The Prevalance of Female Genital Mutilation in India

Abstract

Female Genital Mutilation is a deep-rooted cultural practice in several cultures in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Although in the modern ages, through the impacts of migration and increasing social awareness, this practice is being abandoned by several, it is still a custom being practiced in secrecy by small groups of individuals across the world. This study aims to evaluate the Delhi NCR public’s understanding of the practice and whether increased awareness amongst them would encourage individuals to work towards eradicating the practice. In order to measure this, a survey was carried out on 103 participants from the Delhi NCR Region containing an informative video on the basics of Female genital mutilation and participants were asked mirroring questions before and after viewing the video on their emotions towards the topic, their level of awareness and their likelihood of intervention. The results were analyzed using a paired t-test and descriptive statistics. These results were then presented in the forms of tables and charts, and the alternative hypothesis was retained stating that participants felt better informed, viewed the issue with higher importance and felt more emotionally motivated by the practice after viewing the video. The study implies that an increased level of information and awareness of the topic can lead to increased participation in eradicating the practice and showed how useful even general and basic knowledge on the practice of Female Genital Mutilation created a large impact on the participants.

Keywords: Female Genital Mutilation, Delhi NCR, Bohra, Khatna