Prevalence and risk factors of female genital mutilation in Egypt: a systematic review

Background: Female genital mutilation (FGM) is an ancient practice with several physical, emotional, and sexual complications. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of FGM in Egypt via systematic review. Methods: According to the checklist of PRISMA, we systematically retrieved studies that assessed FGM prevalence among various Egyptian samples from different scientific databases. Results: FGM prevalence in the included studies (n = 36) ranged between 14.7% and 100% (66.2%-100% in the hospital-based studies and 14.7%-86.9% in the student-based studies). FGM prevalence has been showing a declining trend throughout the previous decades. Low parental education and rural residence were identified as major risk factors for FGM. Social, religious, and hygienic drives were shown to enhance the continuation of the practice. Conclusion: FGM prevalence in Egypt, though not precisely detected, seems to be enormous. Understanding the social and religious drives of FGM can help in its elimination.