The association between women’s social status and the medicalisation of female genital cutting in Egypt

An examination of the medicalization trend in female genital cutting in Egypt: How does it relate to a girl's risk of being cut?

“…By safeguarding their daughters' social position and marriageability through FGC, they also secure their own social position [15]. Mothers with a higher social position are, however, less likely to have their daughters cut, because they have more alternative sources of empowerment available to themand thus attain a certain social positionwhich decreases the incentives for FGC [16][17][18]. The social position of the mother has also been found to be related to the medicalization trend in Egypt, with women who occupy a higher social position more likely to opt for a medicalized cut [11].…”

“…The social position of the mother has also been found to be related to the medicalization trend in Egypt, with women who occupy a higher social position more likely to opt for a medicalized cut [11]. This was explained by the finding that these mothers more often live in urban areas and have the financial resources and knowledge, which enables them to find their way to the medical health system [16,17].…”