Official survey: Declining rates of female genital mutilation in Egypt

The rate of female circumcision in Egypt among women and girls has declined in recent years, with rates of exposure to the practice declining among younger girls, according to the results of the Egyptian Household Health Survey for the year 2025, at a time when efforts to raise awareness of the dangers of circumcision and its effects continue. Rates of exposure to the practice varied between regions and educational levels, while younger girls had lower rates compared to women who had previously been married.

According to the survey results, the percentage of previously married women in the age group from 15 to 49 years who were subjected to FGM decreased to 79.3% in 2025, compared to 85.6% in 2021. This percentage also indicates that women were subjected to FGM at an earlier stage in their lives, and does not mean that this percentage of married women are currently undergoing the practice. On the other hand, the survey showed a decline among younger girls, as the percentage of those subjected to circumcision among girls from 0 to 19 years old decreased to 11.4% in 2025, compared to 14.2% in 2021, while the expected percentage of circumcision decreased to 24.2%, compared to 27% in the previous survey.

Rates of exposure to FGM varied according to region and educational level, reaching 87.1% among women in rural Upper Egypt, compared to 63.1% in the border governorates, and reaching 75.9% among women who completed secondary education, compared to 89.6% among women who had never gone to school. Head of the Central Administration for Families and Women at the Ministry of Social Solidarity, Hanan Mustafa Saleh, said that the decline in female genital mutilation among girls is linked to increased awareness of families about the health, psychological and social risks of the practice, adding that families have become more aware of the effects that it can have.

She pointed out that social pioneers play an important role in educating families through field visits, and talking to them about the dangers of circumcision, its psychological and social effects, and what it can entail at different stages of a girl’s life. Saleh stressed, in exclusive statements to Ofoq News in Arabic, that the importance of social pioneers is due to their knowledge of the families and areas in which they work, their ability to reach families and build a relationship of trust with them, in addition to their obtaining training in awareness programs about the dangers of female genital mutilation.

Female circumcision was banned in health institutions in Egypt in 1996, before it was criminalized by law in 2008. Then, the penalties prescribed for the crime were tightened in the amendments of 2016 and 2021. Saleh said that awareness efforts also include campaigns and programs implemented by the Ministry of Social Solidarity, the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, and the National Council for Women, targeting families by raising awareness of the dangers of circumcision and its effects, adding that some mothers during field visits retreat from the idea of ​​circumcising their daughters after they know the risks to which the girl may be exposed, whether on the psychological, social, or health level.

Saleh linked the increased level of maternal education to increased awareness of the dangers of circumcision, saying that increased education raises the level of social and cultural awareness of women, and makes them more aware of the risks to which their daughter may be exposed. This picture is consistent with the survey data, which recorded a rate of circumcision of 75.9% among women who completed secondary education, compared to 89.6% among women who had never gone to school.

Saleh said that the awareness that the mother gains makes her more capable of making a decision not to subject her daughter to circumcision, adding that the effects addressed in awareness programs are not limited to the health aspect, pointing out that circumcision may leave psychological and social effects on the girl that extend to different stages of her life, and may affect her family and marital life. Also, these problems may lead in some cases to family disputes, separation or divorce. The Egyptian Fatwa House stated in successive fatwas that female circumcision is not a religious ritual and there is no legal reason for performing it, and that the medical and psychological harms associated with it necessitate its prohibition, up to the fatwa of 2022, which stipulated that female circumcision is forbidden by law and criminalized by law, and it is not permissible for guardians or doctors to perform it or assist in it, except in medical cases that require therapeutic intervention in accordance with the law.

Saleh explained that reaching families who still have convictions related to the practice remains an essential part of awareness efforts, adding that direct dialogue helps change some of the ideas and beliefs associated with circumcision.