The Changing Paradigms of FGM

This is an updated research study on FGM in Iran. A deep-rooted tradition, the practice has prevailed in parts of four main provinces: West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, and Hormozgan. In all areas where limited anti-cutting and awareness-raising programs ran, the ritual has been declining, albeit at widely differing velocities. Interventions took place during one decade of longitudinal research. The pilot study investigated the importance of anti-FGM training on eliminating the practice in the four districts with the highest rates of women’s ‘circumcision’. Though harmful customs are difficult to challenge in a traditional society such as Iran’s, this study found that where pilot programs were offered to village residents and local practitioners, the practice has begun to wane.