Leveraging Education to End Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting Worldwide

"Our review of over 60 journal articles, white papers, synthesis reviews and news articles suggests that there is a dearth of evidence on the intersection between education and FGM/C, which points to the need for more research and investigation to better understand the linkages."

This paper synthesises the evidence linking female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and education, highlighting promising approaches to address both issues. It also provides actionable guidance to programmers, policymakers, and funders, making the case for targeted investments in basic and secondary education to ensure that girls are protected from cutting. The paper was prepared by International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW) under a grant funded by the Wallace Global Fund, and is intended to help the U.S. government leverage their investments in education to support efforts to end FGM/C.

The nature and extent of FGM/C are discussed in the report, as well as the drivers of FGM/C, and the protective factors (which include wealth, urban settings, and education) that are associated with the decline or abandonment of FGM/C. The report notes that although emerging evidence illustrates that basic education can be an effective instrument for abandoning the practice, additional evidence has yet to be uncovered. For this reason, this research was conducted to look more closely at the link between education and FGM/C. Based on a literature review, the document looks at a number of linkages that need to be considered. These include the fact that education of the mother can prevent FGM in future generations as research has shown that the likelihood that a woman has her daughter cut diminishes as the mother’s level of education rises. In addition, the educational attainment of men can also have an impact on the odds of continuing the practice of FGM/C, and research has also shown that once a girl has been cut, she is more likely to dropout out of school.

In particular, the paper presents learnings from evaluations and anecdotal evidence from a number of programmes that are designed to address either FGM/C or FGM/C and education, either through formal/traditional education settings or nontraditional education mechanisms such as awareness-raising campaigns in different countries and contexts. These programmes include:

• Tostan Education Program (Mali, Senegal, and Burkina Faso) - a human rights community-rooted programme that promotes social change using education and literacy, which has been expanded and scaled up since it was first developed in Senegal.
• FGM Free Village (Egypt) - engaged local religious authorities, members of the government and women in leadership and planning roles to support FGM/C campaign work, and also included women-led schools and awareness education targeting young girls.
• Change Makers (Kenya) - uses a school-based intervention approach and works with parents, principals and elders to gain entry into communities and to identify “change makers”. These “change makers” then team up to form school-based peace clubs, which are involved in raising awareness about FGM/C.
• Channels of Hope -  trains and equips faith and community leaders to individually and collectively respond to issues that impact the well-being of children, their families, and communities.
• Safe Hands for Girls (USA and The Gambia) - implements school-based outreach and trainings on advocacy around FGM/C.
• Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation - teaches children about FGM/C and helps train school teachers and counsellors on how to detect the warning signs of FGM/C. 
• Kakenya Center for Excellence (Kenya and the USA) - leverages holistic, girl-centered education to end harmful traditional practices, empower women and girls to achieve their dreams, and transform communities in rural Kenya.

The report first discusses the different approaches (interventions and programming) that are being utilised by these programmes. These include village/community wide campaigns, school based interventions, alternative rites passages, media and the arts, targeting practitioners/initiators, and targeting parents and other senior family members though intergenerational dialogue. This is followed by a more detailed outline of the approaches and evaluation results of each individual programme. 

In conclusion, the report states that, “[O]verall, more research is needed to effectively examine the intersection of education and FGM/C. While there is some quantitative data on the impact of formal education on individual attitudes and beliefs around the practice, there is still a significant gap in research to determine whether it is really education or other confounding variables that are responsible for this difference. The influence of gender norms must be considered in future research. Popular education campaigns and other programmatic efforts to inform communities about the harmfulness of FGM/C have had success in lowering the rates of FGM/C, but not in all cases and not as quickly as hoped. Additionally, some of these campaigns have not been rigorously evaluated. To that end, further research into the intersections of education and FGM/C will be critical to continue to improve efforts to combat this harmful practice, and to bring effective practices to scale.”

The report offers a list of recommendations for how funders, researchers, implementers, policymakers, and advocates can address some of the gaps in understanding the connection between FGM/C and education and in eliminating the practice of FGM/C across the globe.  The following are just a selection:

Funders:

• Invest resources to fund long-term, evidence-based interventions to eliminate FGM/C, including through social norm change and funding girls/youth-led, women’s and feminist groups working to increase the value of the girl child;
• Invest in building the evidence base about effective prevention strategies, including through rigorous evaluations; and
• Provide resources that target prevention and awareness campaigns in high FGM/C prevalence contexts.

Researchers:

• Build the evidence base on the factors associated with the practice of FGM/C and its effect on education;Š
• Conduct rigorous evaluations to identify promising and effective approaches to the elimination of FGM/C; and
• Conduct qualitative research with community members who choose not to practice FGM/C in order to identify the key factors that lead to decreased likelihood of FGM/C.

Implementers:

• Engage popular opinion leaders including social influencers (i.e., religious leaders) and family influencers (i.e., elder family members) throughout programme design and implementation to garner buy-in and support;
• Design and implement culturally-responsive programming that takes into account ethnicity,culture, and community social norms;
• Use non-“human rights” language in messaging as this terminology or these approaches might actually induce harm (from participation) and failure of programme uptake; and
• Develop formal and informal forums (such as school clubs and intergenerational dialogue sessions) to emphasise the importance of a girl’s completion of school, the consequences of FGM/C and the benefits of eliminating FGM/C in schools, communities and religious settings. A respected member of the community should be the entry point to start thecommunity dialogue.

Policymakers (e.g., House/Senate/USAID/Department of Education)

• Review existing policies to assess where explicit linkages to FGM/C could be added, if they do not already exist, starting with gender, education and health;
• Enact and enforce international conventions, treaties and national laws outlawing the practice of FGM/C, taking great care not to demonise families and communities and drive the practice underground;Š and
• Enact and enforce policies that affirm and protect the fundamental human rights of girls and women, and empower youth- and women- led movements for change.

Advocates

• Advocate, where applicable, for: laws and policies to prevent and respond to FGM/C; policies that support FGM/C prevention in the school system; policies that require school personnel, administration to be trained in FGM/C awareness; and policies that support community-wide FGM/C information “education” campaigns, especially for reaching vulnerable girls – in particular, out of school girls; and
• Collaborate with other international, regional, national FGM/C and girls education coalition platforms on shared messaging.