Peer-reviewed article
Association between female genital mutilation and girl-child marriage in sub-Saharan Africa
Bright Opoku Ahinkorah, John Elvis Hagan, Abdul-Aziz Seidu, Obasanjo Afolabi Bolarinwa, Eugene Budu et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined the relationship between female genital mutilation (FGM) and girl-child marriage across twelve sub-Saharan African countries using data from 14,748 women aged 20-24. The research found that FGM and girl-child marriage are significantly associated, with women who experienced FGM being more likely to have been married as children. Protective factors against girl-child marriage included higher education, wealth, media exposure, and community literacy. The findings suggest that eliminating both practices requires action on education, poverty reduction, and media access.
Key points
- FGM prevalence was 52.19% overall across twelve countries, highest in Guinea at 97.17%
- Girl-child marriage prevalence was 57.96% overall, highest in Chad at 78.06%
- Women who experienced FGM were significantly more likely to have been married as children (aOR=0.76 when never experienced FGM)
- Secondary or higher education reduced girl-child marriage risk by 69% (aOR=0.31)
- Media exposure, community literacy, and socioeconomic factors were protective against girl-child marriage
Limitations
The study is cross-sectional and cannot establish causation, only association. The data is based on retrospective reporting from women aged 20-24, which may be subject to recall bias and may not represent practices in all sub-Saharan African contexts.
Abstract
Two commonly linked harmful practices that negatively impact the health of girls and women in sub-Saharan Africa, and threaten their development and quality of life, are female genital mutilation and girl-child marriage. The central focus of the study was to investigate the association between female genital mutilation and girl-child marriage in sub-Saharan Africa. Data from the most recent Demographic and Health Surveys of twelve sub-Sahara African countries were pooled. A total of 14,748 women aged 20-24 were included in the study. A multilevel logistic regression analysis was employed, with reported adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and associated 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The overall prevalence of FGM in the twelve countries was 52.19%, with the highest prevalence in Guinea (97.17%). The overall prevalence of girl-child marriage in the twelve countries was 57.96%, with the highest prevalence in Chad (78.06%). Women who had never experienced female genital mutilation were less likely to experience girl-child marriage (aOR=0.76, CI=0.71-0.82) compared with those who had ever experienced female genital mutilation. Age 24 (aOR=0.47, CI=0.43-0.52), secondary/higher level of education (aOR=0.31, CI=0.28-0.35), richest wealth quintile (aOR=0.56, CI=0.47-0.66), exposure to mass media (aOR=0.81, CI=0.74-0.88) medium community literacy level (aOR=0.63, CI=0.57-0.69) and low community socioeconomic status (aOR=0.67, CI=0.49-0.92) were found to be protective against girl-child marriage. The findings reveal that female genital mutilation is associated with girl-child marriage in sub-Saharan Africa. The continued practice will adversely affect the reproductive health outcomes of girls in the sub-region. Policies aimed at eliminating female genital mutilation and girl-child marriage should focus on compulsory basic education, poverty alleviation and increasing access to mass media. Further, campaigns should cover more communities with lower literacy levels and medium socioeconomic status.