Seeking the origins of harmful traditions against women
Harmful gender norms are still widely prevalent across the developing world. These traditions, which include, among many others, child marriage, ‘breast ironing’ and female genital cutting (FGC), have significant and detrimental impacts on the lives of women’s health, well-being and empowerment. Despite being linked to extremely severe health consequences, FGC has been performed on over 200 million women around the world. It is a common practice in around 30 countries in Africa and the Middle East, and in some countries around 90 % of women are subjected to it. Yet relatively little is known about the origins or persistence of these harmful traditions. “Some traditions are transmitted secretly among generations of women and so the majority of people are not even aware about their existence,” explains Lucia Corno(opens in new window), associate professor of Economics at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart(opens in new window) in Milan. “For example, the practice of breast-ironing is still something new for the academic community.” In the HarmfulTraditions project, which was funded by the European Research Council(opens in new window), Corno and her colleagues aimed to start filling in this knowledge gap, by investigating the origins of these customs, how they persist and whether policy interventions can help to abolish them from societies.
Tracing female genital cutting to the African slave trade
To find the origins, Corno and her team investigated whether the modern-day prevalence of FGC could be traced back to the African slave trade. The researchers combined contemporary survey data from 28 African countries with historical data on slave shipments, where women were sold as concubines, and infibulation (the stitching together of the vulva) was used to preserve virginity. The study used data from along the Red Sea slave route between 1400 and 1900. Their analysis revealed women from ethnic groups whose ancestors were exposed to the slave trade are more likely to continue practising infibulation or genital mutilation today, and to support it continuing. Using a dataset based on oral traditions, the researchers found that greater exposure to the Red Sea slave trade is also linked to stronger cultural ties to values such as chastity and purity. “This suggests these beliefs may have helped entrench the practice beyond the slave trade context,” notes Corno.
Inspiring policy to counter the practice of FGC
The findings motivated her to pursue further research through an experiment in Sierra Leone, where FGC is deeply tied to culture and community identity. In Sierra Leone, genital cutting is part of a girls’ initiation ritual in which they are taught how to become good mothers and wives, and the cutting takes place at the end of the ritual. “This suggests that the cultural and symbolic value of the ritual may be even more important than the cutting itself,” adds Corno. Corno and her team proposed replacing the cutting with a non-harmful symbolic ritual. Over three years, this intervention reduced cutting among girls aged 7–15 by about 25 %. “These results are highly relevant for policymakers seeking to end harmful traditions,” says Corno. “They highlight that efforts to eradicate FGC must grapple with its deep cultural and historical roots, which make purely top-down bans insufficient.” Corno argues that greater involvement of local actors and a bottom-up approach are key to eliminating the practice. “I hope that these results will inform policymaking in all countries where FGC remains prevalent.”
