Key Findings

In India, the prevalence of FGM/C in women in the Dawoodi Bohra community is between 75% and 85%

FGM/C is referred to as khafd or khafz by Bohra women

Place

Mainly in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Age

Girls are typically cut at the age of six or seven

Type

Type I is the most common type of FGM/C practised

Agent

About three-quarters of FGC is performed by traditional cutters

Distribution of FGM/C across India

Estimates for the prevalence of FGM/C among female members (aged 18–85) of the Dawoodi Bohra community in India vary from 75% to 85%. The Dawoodi Bohra community is the only group in India known to carry out FGM/C regularly. It has been suggested that FGM/C may be occurring on a smaller scale in other groups (such as the Sulemani Bohras and a sub-sect of Sunnis in Kerala), but no surveys of size have been conducted in these communities.

The Dawoodi Bohra community comprises over a million people across 40 countries, though the majority live in India, mainly in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. There are also communities in Pakistan, Yemen and the Middle East, as well as small groups in Australia, Canada, the UK and the US.

Distribution of FGM/C across India

Click on the map to enlarge

FGM/C Legislation in India

There is no law against FGM/C in India.

A public-interest litigation requesting a legal ban on FGC in India was filed before the Supreme Court in 2017, but this was tagged to other cases relating to the right to religious freedom under the Constitution.

Development Indicators

Population

There are one million Bohra globally; they constitute less than 0.1% of the Indian population

Infant Mortality

30.4 deaths per 1,000 live births (2023)

Maternal Mortality

103 deaths per 100,000 live births (2020)

SDG Gender Index

91 out of 144 countries (2020)