Harmful Cultural Traditions: An Analysis of Female Circumcision Practice in Maldives

Abstract

Female circumcision (FC) affects the lives of millions of girls and women worldwide. This study assessed the demographic and socio- economic factors associated with female circumcision among women aged 15-49 in Maldives. Data for this study were extracted from the  2016–2017 Maldives Demographic and Health Survey, collected from a nationally representative probability sample of 7699 households  interviewing women aged 15-49 years. The statistical analysis of this study focused on women aged 15-49 years who have heard about  FC, excluding those who have never heard of FC (n = 5943). Analyses of data entailed descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages)  and estimation of logistic regression models to examine the roles that demographic, economic, and social factors play in the occurrence  of FC in Maldives. The primary variable of interest (dependent variable) was the occurrence of FC. The factors included women’s current  age, age circumcised, highest education level, occupation, region, wealth quintile, and women’s reported attitudes towards FC. Among all  respondents, 17 % of the 5943 women who have heard of female circumcision reported having undergone the procedure. The  findings revealed a significant difference in female circumcision by age, education, occupation, and attitudes towards FC. Furthermore,  most circumcisions occurred before age 5 and were highest in Malé (capital city) and the island atolls in Maldives’s South and North  regions. The variables related to opinions were most strongly associated with female circumcision. Women who believed that their  religion required FC or that the practice of FC should continue are more likely to be circumcised than women who do not hold this  opinion. It was more than double. In addition, cross-tabulations of the opinion variables with age and region have found that the highest  proportion of women who held these beliefs was in the age group 25-39 and lived in Malé. Therefore, we recommend further research  and encouragement to enact policies and legislation that would eliminate the practice of female circumcision in Maldives.