title: Women's attitudes towards discontinuation of female genital mutilation in Egypt.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To examine women's attitude towards discontinuation of female genital mutilation (FGM) in association with their access to information, knowledge of health effects and cultural beliefs concerning FGM in Egypt.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study of 9159 women, using data from the household survey in Egypt by Demographic and Health survey 2003. A comprehensive questionnaire covering attitudes towards FGM, demographics, and access to information was used. Chi-square analysis and logistic regression were applied to investigate how demographics, level of education, access to information, knowledge of health consequences and cultural beliefs influence women's attitudes towards FGM.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the demographic variables, discontinuation of FGM was independently associated with urban residency and post-secondary education. Moreover, women who were informed by the media, and those who had attended community meetings, church, or mosque where FGM was discussed, as well as women who were aware of the negative health consequences of FGM, were more likely to support discontinuation of FGM. By contrast, women with positive cultural conceptions of FGM were less likely to favor its discontinuation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Public education and information dissemination aiming to change current cultural notions favoring FGM practice - through community and religious leaders, and radio and television programs - may play an important role in modifying women's attitudes towards FGM. These findings have some implications for intervention and policy. ‎
authors.affiliation: Linköpings Universitet, Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Centre for Medical Technology Assessment and Division of Social Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Linköping, Sweden. koustuv.dalal@liu.se
authors.forename: Koustuv
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dalal
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lawoko
authors.forename: Bjarne
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Jansson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D002562:Ceremonial Behavior; D019093:Circumcision, Female / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D004534:Egypt / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011639:Public Opinion; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012938:Social Perception; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016387:Women's Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D055815:Young Adult