The students’ response to the main questions
| Question | Males (n=222) | Females (n=192) | p Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| *The figures do not add up to 100% as more than one person might have been involved in decision making. | |||
| NS=no significant statistical difference. | |||
| Mean age (years) (SD) | 22.7 (2.1) | 20.2 (1.9) | NS |
| Are you in favour of female circumcision? | Yes=14% | Yes=5.2% | p<0.01 |
| No=82.8% | No=84.3% | NS | |
| Not sure=3.2% | Unsure=10.5% | p<0.01 | |
| If in favour why? | |||
| Religious reasons | 77.4% | 50% | NS |
| Sexual reasons | 2.6% | 10% | p<0.01 |
| Cultural and social reasons | 10% | 10% | NS |
| Combined reasons | 10% | 30% | NS |
| Awareness of the complications caused by FGM (menstrual, sexual, fertility, and labour) | 91.4% | 94.2% | NS |
| Do you think female circumcision is against the law? | Legal=17.6% | Legal=21.9% | NS |
| Illegal=59.9% | Illegal=46.9% | NS | |
| Don’t know=22.5% | Don’t know=31.2% | NS | |
| Does your religion recommend female circumcision? | Yes=18.8% | Yes=9.4% | p<0.05 |
| No=48.6% | No=55.2% | NS | |
| Don’t know=32.4% | Don’t know=35.4% | NS | |
| Male students: do you prefer a circumcised or non-circumcised female? | Circumcised=11.7% | ||
| Non-circumcised=74.8% | |||
| No preference=13.5% | |||
| Female students: what effect do you think female circumcision would have on your chances of marriage? | Increase=8.3% | ||
| Reduce=9.4% | |||
| No effect=4.2% | |||
| Don’t know=78.1% | |||
| Female students: are you circumcised? | Yes=56.8% | ||
| No=38% | |||
| Don’t know=2.1% | |||
| No answer=3.1% | |||
| *Circumcised females: who took the decision to get you circumcised? | Mother=65% | ||
| Father=21% | |||
| Grandmother=52% | |||
| Others=1.8% | |||
| All students: do you think this practice should continue? | Yes=15.3% | Yes=4.6% | p<0.01 |
| No=78.8% | No=88.1% | NS | |
| Don’t know=5.9% | Don’t know=7.3% | NS | |