Impacts of Interventions

Efforts to end female genital cutting through interventions like legal bans and awareness-raising have had unexpected consequences. In Egypt, an anti-female genital cutting campaign led to a decrease in cutting but resulted in increased child marriages. Similarly, in India, legal reforms aiming to increase female inheritance rights led to more cousin marriages and lower female employment rates. The complexity of cultural practices surrounding virginity and marriage demonstrates the need for comprehensive and context-specific approaches to promoting gender equality.