New Study Reveals Changing Attitudes to Female Genital Mutilation among Sudanese Communities in Egypt
AFRICA, 19 May 2025
Equality Now - TRANSCEND Media Service
13 May 2025 – Since Sudan’s devastating war erupted in April 2023, over a million people have fled to neighbouring Egypt seeking refuge. Both countries have laws banning female genital mutilation (FGM), but despite this, Sudan and Egypt have some of the highest rates of FGM globally. A timely new study, Female Genital Mutilation Amongst Sudanese Migrants in Greater Cairo: Perceptions and Trends, by Equality Now and Tadwein for Gender Studies, provides valuable insights into how migration and exposure to new cultural environments and social networks are influencing FGM practices amongst Sudanese families in Egypt.
Fatima, 7, sits on a bed in her home in Afar region, Ethiopia. She was subjected to FGM/C when she was 1 year old. Photo: UNICEF/ Holt
In-depth interviews revealed positive attitudes toward abandoning FGM. Younger, educated individuals and women with personal experiences of FGM harm voiced some of the strongest opposition to continuing the practice, while men often cited FGM’s negative impact on marital intimacy as a key reason for discontinuation.
However, FGM is viewed by some as a means of maintaining cultural identity and status, and as essential for social acceptance. Many interviewees thought families who embraced FGM in Sudan would likely continue it in Egypt.
Dr. Dima Dabbous from Equality Now explains: “Our study reveals complex and diverse ways Sudanese migrants in Egypt are upholding, modifying, or rejecting deep-rooted cultural practices like FGM. Migration brings both challenges and opportunities for abandonment, and understanding how communities perceive and respond to their new situation is crucial for designing and implementing effective, culturally sensitive, and context-specific interventions.”
FGM in Sudan and Egypt
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Tags: Africa, Egypt, Female Genital Mutilation, Middle East, South Sudan, Sudan, Women Rights, Women in War
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