Formal Education as a Catalyst For Change in Female Empowerment: An Analysis of the Role of Formal Education of Mothers and the Risk of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting Amongst their Daughters in West Africa

Abstract

This master thesis consists of a secondary data analysis of Demographic Health Survey (DHS) data to assess the level of influence of formal education of mothers on the performance of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) on their daughters, which is a form of violence against women and girls. The study uses data from six West African countries that practice FGM/C by using a binary logistic regression model. The underlying reason for conducting this analysis is the inconclusive statistical evidence regarding the impact of a mother's education on reducing FGM/C among daughters. The findings indicate that uneducated mothers are more likely to have at least one cut daughter in comparison to respondents who followed primary, secondary, or higher education, controlling for Wealth Index, Respondent Currently Working, Respondent Circumcised, Female Circumcision: continue or to be stopped and Ethnicity. The most substantial effect is observed between having no education and having primary education, and with each successive increase in the level of educational attainment, the impact of these differences declines. The research shows that primary education in comparison to having no education is most significant in the reduction of the practice of FGM/C which shows that entering primary education at a young age mostly limits the chance of a daughter undergoing FGM/C. A higher attained level of education still significantly affects the chance of daughters being cut, however in a lower amount. Unexpectedly the research shows that mothers who currently work have a higher chance of having at least one cut daughter in comparison to women who do not work. The outcome of this research can inform NGO intervention strategies by being an inspiration to focus more on the formal education of women and girls in the elimination of FGM/C, across a broader (West) African context.