Community perspectives on Female Genital Mutilation in the Kuria community in Kitunda - Dar es Salaam City, Tanzania.

Abstract

This study explored community perspectives on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the Kitunda area of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where FGM persists despite programmatic intervention. A mixed-methods approach was employed to collect data using interviews, focus group discussions, and questionnaires from a total of 539 participants, including primary and secondary school students (aged 9-20 years, M = 12, SD = 1.2) and adults (aged 18-80 years, M = 39, SD = 14.7). Findings indicated that 60 out of 119 parents and 167 out of 370 students involved in the study perceived FGM as prevalent in the Kitunda area. In comparison, 23 parents and 93 students reported knowing or having heard of a girl who had undergone FGM in the preceding 12 months. Participants attributed FGM practices to deeply rooted customs and traditions, and the desire to preserve cultural identity. Although FGM occurs and is practised in secrecy, the majority of members of the urban community disapproved of it. The study highlights how comprehensive education and intervention programmes are needed to prevent such practices, particularly within urban ethnic communities that uphold these traditions, to achieve the goal of ending FGM by 2030.