Men's View on Female Genital Mutilation in Nigeria

Men’s View About Female Genital Mutilation: A survey of Knowledge and Attitude of Men towards Female Genital Mutilation in Obi Local Government Area, Nasarawa State, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Female genital mutilation has been in practice in many African countries for so many years and has now infiltrated the western world through immigrant to countries such as the United Kingdom, United States of America, Australia, Canada and other European countries, making it a global problem. Several efforts towards the elimination of the practice has had set back because of cultural resistance and secrecy attached to the practice. Over the years studies and interventions have privileged mostly women as being responsible for the perpetuation of the practice. The role of men has continued to remain recessive even in the patriarchal family setting like Nigeria. This research survey was designed to explore the role of men in female genital mutilation looking at their knowledge and attitudes towards this harmful practice in the Nigerian communities.  Methods: A quantitative approach was used to survey the knowledge and attitudes of 70 men about the practice of female genital mutilation in Obi Local Government Area of Nasarawa state Nigeria. Questionnaires were used to collect data from the 70 respondents (men) within the age range 21 to 75 years. Results: 77.1(54) percent of the men were aware of female genital mutilation and have good knowledge of the practice. The knowledge of the practice was found to be more in the older men than the young and adolescents. There was association between the age of the men and their knowledge of female genital mutilation. 65.7(46) percent of the men were completely not in support of the practice of female genital mutilation which varies according to their educational level. The support for the practice of FGM decreases as the educational levels of the men increases. Those with higher levels of education were far less in support than those with lower levels. 88.6(62) percent of the men were in control of culture in the community including the culture supporting the practice of FGM showing the dominance of men as custodian of the culture. 71.4(50) percent of the men saw the importance of stopping the practice of FGM and therefore believed in their ability as men to stop the harmful practice in the community. However the challenge still remains in the fact that 68.6 (48) percent of approval for FGM to be performed were done by women in the community. Lack of employment was however not seen as a reason for the persistence of the practice of female genital mutilation because almost all the men were employed with the majority into full-time employment.  Conclusion: The men have adequate knowledge of female genital mutilation