Men's Perception towards the Abandonment of Female Genital Mutilation (Cutting) in Kenya (2014)

Abstract

Introduction: Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a deeply rooted cultural practice common in parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia. It is mainly conducted for marriageability, family honour, social acceptance and chastity Despite Kenya's remarkable progress towards ending FGM, the practice is still prevalent within some ethnic groups threatening the attainment of Sustainable Development Goal No.5 and most specifically Kenya's ICPD25 commitment to end FGM by 2022.

Objective: This study aimed to examine men's perception towards FGM abandonment in Kenya

Method: The study has used the 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey data. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses using binary logistic regression were used with statistical significance of <0.01.

Results: The study worked with a total of 26247 sample of men and women. FGM awareness was higher among men (98%) compared to women (97%) and over 90% of men and women favour its abandonment. Apart from women's age, all variables (region, place of residence, religion, ethnicity, education, wealth index, marital status, polygyny and men's age) were significant at <0.01 at bivariate stage. Young men and women below 30 years were more in favour of FGM abandonment than older folks. In the logistic regression, age and ethnicity were negatively associated with FGM abandonment while education, wealth and marital status were positive. Women's age, women's marital status and place of residence were insignificant.

Conclusion: Given that men are the architects and custodians of community social norms, programmes to end FGM should consider their greater involvement. Culture specific interventions should be put in place using the social norms theory. Education and cultural intermarriages should be promoted as a way of ending harmful cultural practices.