Table 5. Odds ratios (ORs) for believing the practice of female genital cutting (FGC) should continue,a by sociodemographic characteristics, for women who had heard of FGC in surveyb in 10 western African countries, 2005–2007.
| Characteristic | Sierra Leone (n = 7 380) OR (95% CI) |
Gambia (n = 9 770) OR (95% CI) |
Burkina Faso (n = 6 644) OR (95% CI) |
Mauritania (n = 11 392) OR (95% CI) |
Guinea-Bissau (n = 6 990) OR (95% CI) |
Côte d'Ivoire (n = 10 559) OR (95% CI) |
Nigeria (n = 12 706) OR (95% CI) |
Togo (n = 4 528) OR (95% CI) |
Ghana (n = 4 052) OR (95% CI) |
Niger (n = 2 979) OR (95% CI) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | ||||||||||
| 15–19 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| 20–24 | 0.90 (0.70–1.15) |
0.78** (0.65–0.93) |
0.80 (0.53–1.20) |
0.86 (0.74–1.01) |
0.80 (0.63–1.00) |
0.75** (0.62–0.92) |
0.94 (0.79–1.12) |
0.80 (0.51–1.25) |
0.72 (0.34–1.49) |
0.80 (0.43–1.51) |
| 25–29 | 0.92 (0.70–1.22) |
0.70** (0.58–0.84) |
0.59** (0.43–0.80) |
0.93 (0.79 –1.11) |
0.88 (0.66–1.18) |
0.62** (0.51 –0.76) |
0.88 (0.73–1.05) |
0.97 (0.61–1.56) |
1.22 (0.59–2.53) |
0.88 (0.43–1.79) |
| 30–34 | 1.06 (0.77–1.45) |
0.67** (0.54–0.83) |
0.49** (0.34–0.71) |
0.78** (0.65–0.94) |
0.85 (0.65–1.13) |
0.73** (0.59–0.91) |
0.79* (0.63–0.97) |
0.87 (0.53–1.44) |
0.98 (0.42–2.27) |
0.77 (0.39–1.51) |
| 35–39 | 1.15 (0.85–1.55) |
0.65** (0.52–0.82) |
0.66* (0.47–0.92) |
0.78* (0.64–0.94) |
1.20 (0.89–1.62) |
0.73** (0.58–0.92) |
0.87 (0.70–1.08) |
0.93 (0.58–1.48) |
0.53 (0.23–1.22) |
0.97 (0.45–2.12) |
| 40–44 | 1.31 (0.89–1.94) |
0.56** (0.44–0.72) |
0.60** (0.42–0.86) |
0.77* (0.62–0.95) |
1.01 (0.75–1.37) |
0.71** (0.56–0.91) |
0.97 (0.77–1.23) |
1.02 (0.60–1.75) |
0.85 (0.37–1.97) |
0.78 (0.34–1.81) |
| 45–49 | 1.85** (1.17–2.93) |
0.56** (0.42–0.76) |
0.61* (0.42–0.89) |
0.77* (0.62–0.97) |
0.91 (0.65–1.29) |
0.81 (0.60–1.10) |
1.22 (0.94–1.57) |
1.27 (0.74–2.18) |
0.32* (0.13–0.84) |
1.44 (0.67–3.10) |
| Educational level | ||||||||||
| None | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Primary | 0.79 (0.63–1.01) |
0.74* (0.58–0.95) |
0.89 (0.70–1.13) |
0.58** (0.50–0.68) |
0.43** (0.36–0.52) |
0.46** (0.39–0.56) |
1.40** (1.15–1.69) |
0.80 (0.59–1.09) |
0.56* (0.31–0.99) |
0.45** (0.25–0.80) |
| Above primary | 0.34** (0.27–0.42) |
0.50** (0.42–0.60) |
0.17** (0.11–0.26) |
0.36** (0.30–0.43) |
0.21** (0.16–0.28) |
0.22** (0.17–0.28) |
1.31** (1.08–1.59) |
0.50** (0.35–0.71) |
0.62 (0.38–1.04) |
0.25** (0.11–0.59) |
| Non-standard/Madrasab | – | 0.91 (0.44–1.88) |
– | 0.76** (0.64–0.91) |
– | – | – | – | – | – |
| Marital status | ||||||||||
| Never married | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Currently married | 1.44** (1.12–1.84) |
1.31** (1.09–1.56) |
1.03 (0.53–1.99) |
1.23** (1.06–1.42) |
1.45** (1.13–1.86) |
1.93** (1.58–2.37) |
1.14 (0.95–1.35) |
1.62* (1.04–2.51) |
1.80 (0.96–3.37) |
0.62 (0.32–1.20) |
| Formerly married | 1.12 (0.81–1.54) |
0.98 (0.75–1.29) |
0.76 (0.36–1.63) |
1.10 (0.92–1.32) |
1.18 (0.85–1.64) |
1.02 (0.81–1.28) |
1.14 (0.87–1.50) |
1.26 (0.69–2.32) |
0.96 (0.46–2.01) |
0.25** (0.09–0.67) |
| Wealth quintile | ||||||||||
| Lowest | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Second | 0.63 (0.38–1.03) |
1.60** (1.13–2.26) |
0.63** (0.47–0.83) |
0.50** (0.38–0.65) |
1.01 (0.79–1.28) |
0.60** (0.46–0.78) |
1.12 (0.85–1.48) |
0.62** (0.44–0.87) |
0.74 (0.43–1.27) |
0.85 (0.50–1.44) |
| Middle | 0.39** (0.24–0.64) |
1.52 (1.00–2.32) |
0.84 (0.64–1.11) |
0.23** (0.18–0.30) |
0.86 (0.66–1.12) |
0.51** (0.38–0.69) |
1.13 (0.84–1.53) |
0.57* (0.37–0.88) |
0.65 (0.36–1.17) |
0.72 (0.42–1.21) |
| Fourth | 0.20** (0.12–0.32) |
0.93 (0.61–1.40) |
0.76 (0.55–1.05) |
0.12** (0.09–0.15) |
0.63** (0.48–0.82) |
0.40** (0.29–0.56) |
1.26 (0.94–1.70) |
0.45** (0.30–0.70) |
0.34** (0.18–0.64) |
0.63 (0.37–1.08) |
| Highest | 0.15** (0.09–0.24) |
0.38** (0.26–0.56) |
0.86 (0.65–1.13) |
0.06** (0.05–0.08) |
0.33** (0.24–0.43) |
0.24** (0.17–0.34) |
0.79 (0.58–1.07) |
0.47** (0.30–0.73) |
0.22** (0.11–0.43) |
0.53* (0.31–0.93) |
| Religion | ||||||||||
| Non-Muslim | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Muslim | 1.60** (1.29–1.97) |
16.92** (10.75–26.64) |
1.75** (1.39–2.20) |
NA | 17.42** (13.82–21.96) |
3.12** (2.50–3.89) |
1.33** (1.11–1.61) |
0.92 (0.68–1.25) |
0.99 (0.59–1.68) |
0.62 (0.30–1.29) |
CI, confidence interval; NA, not available; *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01.
a “Believing the practice should continue” includes both yes and depends responses.
b Third round of Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys.
c Non-standard education in Gambia and Madrasa education/Koranic school in Mauritania were included in the analysis due to the high percentages of women who selected these categories; as a result, education for Gambia and Mauritania was modelled as dummy variables instead of the ordinal sequence used for other countries.