Odo Amelia Ngozi, Dibia Samuel Ifeanyi Christian, Nwagu Evelyn Nwanebe, Umoke MaryJoy, Umoke Prince Christian Ifeanachor
Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 410001, Nigeria.
Department of Public Health, Ebonyi State Ministry of Health, Abakaliki. Nigeria.
Afr Health Sci. 2020 Dec;20(4):1968-1978. doi: 10.4314/ahs.v20i4.55.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a public health challenge and seems to be secretly practiced in some rural communities, despite the ban in Nigeria.
The study aimed to identify the activities that are involved in FGM, type(s) of FGM practiced and the knowledge of health implications of FGM among rural community members in Ebonyi State, Nigeria.
We employed exploratory design using qualitative technique. In-depth interviews were conducted with 44 adult (18 years and older) volunteers in four rural communities in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. After thematic analysis using NVivo 11 Pro software, eight sub-themes emerged, among which are: types of FGM practiced, seasons for FGM, FGM by health workers and community leaders, punishment for refusing FGM and knowledge of health implications of FGM.
Findings show that FGM is more like a process than just an act, and type most practiced in the study area is Type 1. Circumcisers are health workers and women leaders. Knowledge of health implications of FGM was found to be low among those interviewed.
Based on the findings, we concluded that FGM is still practiced in some rural communities in Nigeria, maybe because of poor knowledge of health implications of FGM.
女性生殖器切割是一项公共卫生挑战，尽管尼日利亚已颁布禁令，但在一些农村社区似乎仍在秘密进行。
本研究旨在确定与女性生殖器切割相关的活动、实施的女性生殖器切割类型，以及尼日利亚埃邦伊州农村社区成员对女性生殖器切割健康影响的了解情况。
我们采用定性技术进行探索性设计。对尼日利亚埃邦伊州四个农村社区的44名成年（18岁及以上）志愿者进行了深入访谈。使用NVivo 11 Pro软件进行主题分析后，出现了八个子主题，其中包括：实施的女性生殖器切割类型、女性生殖器切割的季节、卫生工作者和社区领袖实施的女性生殖器切割、拒绝女性生殖器切割的惩罚以及对女性生殖器切割健康影响的了解。
研究结果表明，女性生殖器切割更像是一个过程而非仅仅是一种行为，研究区域内最常实施的类型是1型。实施切割者是卫生工作者和女性领袖。在接受采访的人中，对女性生殖器切割健康影响的了解程度较低。
基于研究结果，我们得出结论，女性生殖器切割在尼日利亚的一些农村社区仍在进行，可能是因为对女性生殖器切割健康影响的了解不足。
