The Politicization of Femal Genital Mutilation/Circumcision (FGM/C) in Egypt

Abstract

How do the politics regarding an issue impact public support levels for or against the issue? Can the politics surrounding an issue determine people’s opinions on the practice? This thesis attempts to find the links that bridge politics to people’s support levels for practices like FGM/C. Egypt has the second highest rates of FGM/C in the world, despite its apparent progressiveness and advancement in comparison to other African and Middle Eastern countries. Thus, the overwhelming presence of the practice is puzzling, and begs for an investigation of the underlying mechanisms through which politics come to influence people’s lives in unexpected ways. The central tenet of this thesis is that the politicization of issues like FGM/C influences public support levels for their perpetuation. This is an investigation of the politicization of FGM/C in Egypt, and the way in which this politicization has manifested itself. I use qualitative evidence retrieved on the grounds in Cairo, Egypt and quantitative evidence from the Arab Barometer to substantiate my hypotheses on the relationship between people’s attitudes towards political entities like the state, and their support of FGM/C. Because FGM/C became associated with anti-state, anti-Western political sentiments, which reached peak levels during the eruption of the issue on the international stage, people became more likely to accept the practice.