Within some areas of three western and one southern province, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is embedded in the social fabric of Iranian culture. While lack of interest by government officials has abetted public ignorance of the subject, researching FGM has been part of awareness-raising since 2007 and possibly earlier. The work first came to prominence when in 2015 a pilot project, shooting a film1, and later through comprehensive research published in 20152 carried out.
Anthologist and researcher Kameel Ahmady, with a fieldwork teams, surveyed hundreds of women and men in Iran over a six-year period. The research revealed excision mostly by Sunni minorities in West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, Kermanshah and Hormozgan provinces. Indicating reliability of the gathered data in the same provinces, repeated surveys show that the practice is in decline, yet still highly prevalent in some areas. Nonetheless, villages chosen as pilots for training showed great improvement and sharp declines in FGM while other highlighted villages still display a declining trend but at a slower pace.
This report analyses the impact of awareness raising to eradicate or reduce FGM rates in West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, Kermanshah and Hormozgan provinces and offers up-to-date data and descriptions of current practices after pilot interventions. It follows publication of In the Name of Tradition: Female Genital Mutilation in Iran.