Community-based survey on female genital excision in Faranah District, Guinea

This paper reports on a community-based study in 1999 of the beliefs and pr actices of people in Faranah District, Guinea regarding female genital exci sion (FGE). Semi-structured individual interviews and focus group discussio ns were carried out with women of reproductive age, older women, married me n, community and religious leaders, traditional practitioners and health wo rkers. The study found that FOE was being carried out on girls aged 6-74, m ostly using a traditional knife and involving total excision of the clitori s and partial removal of the external genitals, in conjunction with instruc tion on how young women should behave when they are married. The practice i s illegal under notional lows but few people were aware of this. There was a tendency towards taking girls for medical care to avoid complications, an d some people suggested that FGE should be done by medical professionals, b ut this was a minority More than 60 per cent of respondents thought FGE was harmful to health and supported its abolition. Many more men than women to ok this view, women felt under pressure to maintain the tradition. To stop FGE, local organisations need to support a process of change within the com munity, including awareness-raising about the low and the negative health e ffects of FGE, promoting alternative ceremonies, educating practitioners an d supporting education and improvements in the status of women.