Community Based efforts of Eliminating Female Genital Mutilation

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a form of gender-based violence that threatens their health and a violation of female human rights. Although much work has been done to tackle this practice in Egypt, UNICEF (2016) has reported that, the prevalence of FGM remains high in Africa and the Middle East. This work aimed at throwing the light on the real and hoped perspectives of FGM. Real perspectives are embodied in the community-based study conducted by the authors to investigate the effectiveness of an educational program at changing the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of schoolteachers towards FGM. In this regard, overview about FGM in terms of definitions and concepts, types, prevalence, reasons for taking the act, consequences, historical and Islamic perspectives, surrounding debates, efforts for eliminating the act. In addition to, reasons for choosing female teachers as participants, female teachers' opinions about their own circumcision status, and extra discussed issues with the study participants rather than the educational program contents and reasons for choosing primary school as the setting are elaborated.