The gendered impact of COVID-19 on FGM

ABSTRACT

The gendered impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women and girls has deepened pre-existing gender inequalities and gender-based violence. Research conducted between February and May 2021 with partner organisations in Somalia/Somaliland, Ethiopia, and Kenya was able to add more evidence to the growing acknowledgement that COVID-19 has triggered an increase in the prevalence of FGM. Furthermore, the research highlighted the urgent need for responses to FGM and other forms of violence against women and girls to be integrated as part of the development response to pandemics. The article points to a need to look more closely at how and why changes in harmful mindsets happen. The findings reveal that unless change is triggered by strong convictions to respect the rights of girls, it is highly fragile and unlikely to be sustained.

KEYWORDS:

• FGM
• gendered impact
• gender-based violence
• vAWG
• harmful practices

Introduction

The evidence is now convincing that lockdown measures implemented in most countries since March 2020 because of the COVID-19 crisis have led to increases in harmful cultural practices,¹ such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) (see Esho at al. 2022; Musa et al. 2021). This has been in sharp contrast to the progress made in reducing the prevalence of FGM in countries such as Kenya (Musa et al. 2021). Stories and reports are emerging of girls being cut due to school closures and the strict lockdown measures. As poverty deepens, families are forced to sell young daughters for a bride price, which, in turn, requires them to have undergone FGM (Mubaiwa 2020). Malik and Naeem (2020, 1) argue that “In times when social isolation and distancing practices are being applied, there are increased risks of violence against women, their abuse, exploitation and neglect”. Evidence to demonstrate this negative impact of COVID-19 on the lives of young women and girls has also been collected by several international organisations (see Goulds et al. 2020; Esho at al. 2022). There is an urgent need to explore in detail how the pandemic has specifically affected the practice of FGM and to develop more effective development responses.

The interviews with stakeholders on the ground add to the growing evidence base that lockdowns triggered increases in FGM, bride-price, and child marriage. We argue in this article that a lack of integration of FGM into COVID-19 response strategies has left many girls at risk of being cut and survivors with no access to essential protection and support services (Eghtessadi, et al. 2020). Resources for sexual reproductive and end-violence-against-women-and-girls (VAWG) services were reduced, as funds were redirected into COVID-19 response work. Yet, what we know of FGM, is that removing the safety nets available to girls, only deepens their vulnerabilities to a range of violent practices. COVID-19 induced poverty has created a resurgent market for FGM with “cutters” returning to the practice after previously abandoning it. Some activists have argued that the restricted mobility and funding of civil society actors in communities has contributed to an increase in the rates of FGM. The overall impact is a shrinking of the civil society space and, with it, action to end FGM and gender inequalities (Mubaiwa 2020). The lack of integration of FGM into the COVID-19 response, in the face of the growing evidence of increased prevalence, forces us to critically reflect on the extent of current global commitments to end all forms of VAWG and achieve gender equality.² It also exposes a lack of recognition within development that crises trigger surges in all forms of VAWG, including harmful practices.

During February and May 2021, the authors of this article conducted 69 interviews in Somaliland/Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya with key stakeholders (CSOs, activists, INGOs, UN agencies) and government officials. The interview tool was designed to ascertain the impact of COVID-19 on the prevalence of FGM. Participants were recruited through a snow-balling exercise using the researcher’s own networks and access to gatekeeper organisations working in the field of gender rights. The research participants were approached with a formal information letter and details of the study and its protocol. In addition to this, the study aims and objectives, as well as additional ethical issues (including assurance of anonymity and confidentiality) were explained verbally to the interviewees before the interviews. The research was conducted under strict ethical protocols and all necessary in-country ethical clearances were secured. Participants were given the opportunity to withdraw from the study at any point. Before the interview, a consent form was given, and participants were asked to carefully read it and sign.

The qualitative data collected was thematically coded and whilst differences between contexts were revealed in terms of underlying triggers for FGM and prevalence rates, across each context, the devasting impact of COVID-19 was clear. This article presents these findings and is structured as follows: the first section gives an overview of the political economy contexts of FGM in Somali/Somaliland, Kenya, and Ethiopia, outlining the prevalence rates, root causes, and the legislative landscape. The second section moves to present the data on the impact that COVID-19 has had on rates of FGM. This section looks specifically at the impact of school closures, rising levels of poverty, and the reduction in on-the-ground development activities. The third section moves to explore the impact COVID-19 has had on activism and the momentum for change that, prior to COVID-19, arguably existed in work to shift mindsets away from FGM and towards greater support for the rights of girls. The conclusion then returns to the argument presented throughout: that work to end FGM, and other forms of violence must continue during pandemics and indeed any humanitarian crisis.

Researching FGM

FGM has received considerable critical media attention: campaigners have argued for decades that thousands of young females are forced to undergo FGM every year. For example, Amnesty International reported on the prevalence of FGM as early as in 2007. The reasons for this practice vary from society to society. However, studies have shown that the practice has become a major global health concern, especially in many societies where women do not have reproductive health rights. In this article, we analyse the impact of COVID-19 on and for the lives of girls with a specific focus on FGM and by applying the well-known ecology approach developed by Lori Heise (1998). This model is commonly used in research on violence against women and girls and offers a useful way of unpacking how different economic, social, cultural, religious, and political factors create an environment that legitimises VAWG. The focus of the model is on analysing how gendered norms shape attitudes and behaviours at various levels and spheres, from individual mind-sets through to ideological norms that structure institutions and policies. In taking an ecological approach, we are able to compare contexts and draw out similarities and differences between them. The presentation of each context begins with a summary of the national picture and then moves to present the findings from the interviews which drill down into individual and community motivations and behaviours for FGM.

Mapping the FGM contexts: Somaliland/Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia Kenya

Nationally representative data on FGM/C in Kenya is available from the Demographic and Health Surveys (KDHS). Data from the 2014 KDHS show that the national prevalence of FGM/C among women aged 15 to 49 in Kenya is 21.0 per cent (KDHS 2014). The prevalence of FGM/C in Kenya declined by about 17 percentage points over the past two decades, from 37.6 per cent in 1998 to 21.0 per cent in 2014. Girls and women in rural areas are more likely to undergo FGM/C than those in urban areas.

In 2011, Kenya adopted a law the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act 2011 (revised in 2012) that prohibited FGM/C nationwide. Anyone who performs any type of FGM/C (including when it is done by medical professionals) commits an offence, regardless of the age or status of the girl or woman. While some arrests have been made and cases brought to court in Kenya since the introduction of the Act in 2011, generally, the implementation of the law and its enforcement remain a challenge. Additionally, various policies and Action Plans have been set up to address FGM/C. The Kenyan government adopted The National Policy for the Abandonment of Female Genital Mutilation in June 2010. The policy was instrumental in the formulation of the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act 2011. The National Policy was revised in 2019 because of “the need to address emerging trends that have contributed to the slow decline in practice of FGM (National Policy for the Eradication of FGM 2019).

Ethiopia

Nationally representative data on FGM/C in Ethiopia is available from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS). Information on FGM/C was collected in Ethiopia for the first time in 2000, and in subsequent surveys in 2005 and 2016. Data from the 2019 DHS show that the national prevalence of FGM/C among women aged 15–49 in the country is 65.2 per cent The prevalence of FGM/C in Ethiopia declined over the past two decades, from 79.9 per cent in 2000 to 65.2 per cent in 2016. Girls and women in rural areas are more likely to undergo FGM/C than those in urban areas (Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey 2016).

Regional variations: The prevalence of FGM/C in Ethiopia varies greatly among the 11 regions. In some regions, such as Afar, Somali, and Harari, the prevalence is very high (more than 80%). In other regions, the prevalence is lower, for example, in Tigray (24.2%). This can be explained by the ethnic, religious, and socio-economic backgrounds of people living in these geographical areas, which may be associated with higher or lower propensity to practice FGM/C (Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey 2016).

Somaliland/Somalia

Somalia/Somaliland has one of the highest prevalence rates of FGM/C in the world. Information on FGM/C was collected in Somalia/Somaliland for the first time in 2006 and for the second time in 2011. In the Northeast Zone, the FGM/C prevalence remained stable (at 98%). Girls and women in rural areas are slightly more likely to undergo FGM/C than those in urban areas (UNFPA 2020). There is currently no national legislation in place that criminalises and punishes FGM/C in Somalia/Somaliland. Although a new anti-FGM/C law was drafted in Somalia a few years ago (which aims to criminalise all forms of FGM/C), it is still pending cabinet endorsement and has not yet been forwarded to Parliament to be adopted (Kimani et al. 2020).

In addition, the Federal Ministry of Women and Human Rights Development (MoWHRD) has prepared a draft Law on Sexual Offences and a draft Law on Child Rights (both of which aim to criminalise child marriage and FGM/C, but are also still pending approval by Parliament). All these laws faced opposition from religious leaders who are divided on whether all forms or just some forms should be included. Article 15(4) of the draft Constitution of Somalia (2012) does prohibit the “circumcision” of girls. However, there are no provisions that establish a punishment and/or penalty for violating this provision in the Constitution – hence the need to adopt a national law (Kimani et al. 2020).

What we see in comparing across contexts is the extent to which the influence of religious leaders in Somaliland dominates more than in other contexts. Political will to end FGM is arguably greater in Kenya, whilst in Ethiopia, internal conflict means political focus is on achieving stability rather than on progressing gender equality actions plans.

Diversion and reallocation of resources

The COVID-19 crisis has seen funding for gender-based violence, including FGM, reprioritised towards emergency responses. Even before the pandemic, only 0.12% of humanitarian funds went towards combatting gender-based violence (Riley et al. 2020). The gendered impact of COVID-19 is illustrated by an upsurge in violence against women and girls in Africa (Ajaji 2020; UN Women 2020), specifically, sexual gender-based violence (SGBV) and unintended pregnancies (The World Bank Group 2020). Women and girls under stringent lockdown rules have had limited access to social protection, threatening their SRH rights (UN Women et al. 2020; United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, 2020). In Kenya, for example, according to The New Humanitarian, thousands of school girls have become pregnant during the lockdown period (Wadekar 2020). Many pregnant women have had reduced options for care, as health centres that they normally access have shut down as health care providers are re-assigned to the pandemic response (MSF 2020). In Somalia, a survey illustrated that approximately 50 per cent of SRH services have been either reduced or suspended since the onset of the pandemic (OECD 2020).

Globally it is anticipated that the COVID-19 lockdowns, which continued for about 12 months, will have reduced access to contraceptives for approximately 47 million women in 114 low and middle-income countries, contributing to an additional seven million unintended pregnancies (UNFPA 2020). Furthermore, it is anticipated that this will lead to about 13 million child marriages between 2020 and 2030 that would not otherwise have occurred (UNFPA 2020). Experiences from the Ebola epidemic demonstrated a long-term adverse impact on sexual and reproductive health (SRH) outcomes. This occurs when countries are concerned with emerging disease outbreaks (Chattu and Yaya 2020) and reroute limited resources to contain epidemics while neglecting other essential health needs of their populations. In low and middle-income countries, public health disruption as a result of COVID-19 has been associated with a potential annual impact of a 10 per cent decline in SRH service access – in particular, by girls and women (Oladele et al. 2020, Riley et al. 2020).

COVID-19, as with Ebola, has revealed how ending VAWG is approached as a siloed issue, with funding removed as soon as other perceived priorities emerge. Applying the ecology model reveals how, across the globe, government commitment to end VAWG is not consistent. The impact of COVID-19 on and for the lives of women and girls adds further weight to those that argue that ending VAWG needs to be mainstreamed across humanitarian responses (see Bradley and Gruber 2021). As the quote below shows, rather than maintaining, or even increasing the resourcing of, end-VAWG activities, it was diverted into more generalised interventions:

Increase in FGM has been recorded. UNICEF documented by 1.1% in nine counties. Resources were focused on getting people to conform to COVID-19 measures rather than on preventing increases in FGM. (Participants from a male- led end- FGM organisation in Kenya).

You are doing FGM programming and you don't have a sustainability plan for the gains you would have made then they can easily be done away with by an emergency. (Participant from a national INGO in Kenya)

What this data reveals is first a lack of understanding as to how crises play out in the lives of the most vulnerable. Such an acute emergency as that presented by COVID-19 does not halt VAWG but in fact acts as a trigger for increases. This can also be seen in research documenting the impact of climatic crises (see Bradley et al. 2021). The speed at which resources have been pulled calls into question the extent to which emergency planning is holistically responsive to on-the-ground realities. Furthermore, as the rest of this article will reveal, the extent to which gender norms and behaviours have shifted must also be questioned given how quickly communities have returned to performing FGM. Drawing on the behavioural change model introduced by Shell-Duncan et al. (2011) that maps shifts along a continuum from gender unequal to gender transformative, we can see more clearly how mindsets shift slowly and in stages. Research applying this continuum had, prior to COVID-19, documented moves along it towards the contemplation stage in which individuals and communities are beginning to accept gender equality as a positive reality. However, arguably, we can now see a move, in many of our contexts, back to the dominant behavioural norm of gender unequal. The challenge for development is how practice on the ground can be maintained during a pandemic in order to preserve any precious positive shifts towards gender transformation.

The fragility of change

The impact of school closures

Inroads into behavioural change have been rolled back for a number of reasons. The closure of schools, according to my respondents, has been linked to increases in child labour, neglect, sexual abuse, and adolescent pregnancies, all of which spiked with many children still not returning to school. Added to this, many children suffered from a lack of access to school-provided social assistance, such as free lunches, or clean water and washing facilities. In Kenya, some of the participants revealed that the pandemic had exacerbated an already challenging situation. The impact of COVID-19 has emphasised the links between FGM and other harmful practices, such as child marriage and teenage pregnancies. For example, a religious leader who is also a CEO of a county anti-FGM board in Kenya, states:

We are seeing increases in cases of girls undergoing FGM – some parents thought schools would not re-open and this has resulted in an increase of early marriage. (Religious leader and board member-Kenya)

Another participant shared: “with schools shut we saw a big jump in child pregnancies” (Community leader, Kenya).

It has impacted a lot; previously, young girls used to go to schools, and cutting session was very short, it was only July, but during COVID-19 they found holidays, and cutting can happen any time; women who used to find income from schools, could not get any source of income, so they started to practice FGM to generate income. (Youth anti-FGM activist, Ethiopia)

Yes, it has negative impact on it since the school was closed and all the girls stayed home; the girls might force into FGM but it needs research by itself; a lot has to be done at this part to find out. (FGM female activist, Ethiopia).

Without the safety net provided by schools, girls are exposed to an increase in risk factors, such as sexual violence and exploitation, which have led to increases in pregnancies. Teenage pregnancies then necessitate early marriage to reduce the stigma of being unmarried. Without the enabling environment of a school, the social value of girls is immediately questioned and devalued (see Gyanwali 2021). As a result of increases in teenage pregnancies, a cascading effect occurs, with more parents following a pattern of marrying young daughters to reduce the risk of unmarried pregnancies. Across the contexts in this study, FGM and marriage are closely linked. As already alluded to, a major concern for girls is that being out of school for a prolonged period puts them at risk of early marriage. Secondary education is a major delayer of early marriage. In this region of west and central Africa, four out of ten girls are married before 18. There are fears for those who never return. “It’s a real worry that girls won’t come back … [because of the COVID-19 outbreak] the financial stresses might be even harder, and families will be looking for girls to get married earlier” (Burzynska and Contreras 2020, 22). The sudden closure of schools put many children (in boarding schools) in danger by sending them on long unaccompanied journeys home without access to textbooks and/or the internet.

Our data reveal that the families face pressure to perform FGM on girls. As one participant shared:

Lockdowns and movement restrictions including closing school put girls at risk – reporting threats became difficult[…] Parents having girls at home instead of them being in school meant no one was watching over the girls and Early Marriage and FGM happened as a result. CSO could not work in the communities due to fear on COVID-19 […] and these lockdowns and movement restrictions including closing school put girls at risk. (Respondent: Kenya male led CSO)

[In Ethiopia FGM,] is increasing after COVID-19. Because school(s) were closed during COVID-19 time, they were practising FGM at rural area(s). (Female FGM activist, Ethiopia)

The impact of COVID-19 has provided yet more evidence of the holistic positive impact of school on girls. Many participants across contexts argued that schools act as hubs or deterrence for early marriage and FGM. Schools provide comprehensive safeguarding procedures that include vigilance to threats of FGM and forced marriage. Increasingly, staff are trained to respond to disclosures. Schools often work with support organisations creating safe one-to-one spaces for students to share concerns. For example, Compassion International in Kenya, and UNICEF in Ethiopia both work closely with schools to maintain safe girl hubs (Stem and Anderson 2015). Both organisations produce and use sensitive, age-appropriate materials about FGM and forced marriage and provide accessible support services for students. Additionally, schools work in partnership with and across the community – building relationships with parents, community leaders, health facilities, and women’s organisations. At an international level, the UNFPA (2020) warned that school closures risked reversing the small gains recently made in expanding access to education, especially for the girls. Even before COVID-19 shut schools, globally, fewer than fewer half of school-age girls were enrolled, while only one in four were attending secondary school. In rural Ethiopia, one of the respondents revealed that a teaching assistant at one of the centres told UNFPA representatives that her students, especially girls, were “very upset” when they heard it would be closed as part of the lockdown.

It has impacted that it gave a chance for the parents who wanted to circumcise their daughters, when COVID-19 started, schools and educational institutions were closed, then girls remained at home, many have seen this an opportunity to circumcise them. In my point of view, during COVID-19, FGM have increased, many cases have occurred. (Activities at a UN agency, Ethiopia)

This lockdown period is defined by a reversal of the net gains in terms of the number of girls being cut. A participant from one organisation in Somaliland felt that there had been a sharp increase in the number of girls being cut:

In 2020 is called mass cutting and it had a huge impact because people get chances to circumcise girls. Schools are off and some workplaces are off too then mothers get chance to circumcise the girls. (Participant from UNFPA, Somaliland)

Our respondents suggested that the number of FGM ceremonies during COVID-19 has surpassed those of the previous years; for example, a stakeholder from a CSO in Somaliland stated:

Circumcision is something that people do during the holidays, and they look it to the exact time they think that the girl to have a time to recover from the damage they do to her, so it was done during the school holidays, and the COVID-19 has a chance for a girl to have a good time to recover, as they said. then you will see this year exceeded the previous years, according to the reports we getting from the MCHs. And the recent case occurred in a village nearby in which a woman circumcised 20 girls, then it seems they were seeking/waiting for a holiday to start which the COVID-19 brought in, and closed schools caused to increase. (Stakeholder in Ethiopia)

A government official in Somaliland emotionally shared: "Circumcision has increased dramatically. And the little girls were circumcised" (Participant from the Somaliland Ministry of Employment, Social Affairs and Family).

According to one stakeholder from the Ministry of Employment in Ethiopia, a reduction in other income sources had given rise to FGM:

In 2020, so far, I have done research for six to seven institutions, other research makes it clear that FGM cases rose when the pandemic happened. Two issues were the biggest, one of the schools shut (school closed, it becomes a chance for daughters to be circumcised). Second, awareness and social workers working to end FGM have been reduced, and last is that people think this is a religious practice. Therefore, in general, I believe there has been an increase in the practice. (Stakeholder, Ministry of Employment, Ethiopia)

Clearly, COVID-19 has revealed a range of vulnerabilities that impact the lives of girls in poor communities more severely than other groups. The question emerges: what were/are the interventions on the ground, in addition to schools, that make the biggest differences in reducing these vulnerabilities?

The impact of no community dialogue work

The evidence base tells us that ongoing and sustained community dialogues are essential in reversing the harmful attitudes towards girls which ultimately sanction FGM. The mobility restrictions as a result of COVID-19, have had massive implications in limiting the face-to-face activities CSOs were able to run. Whilst the medium- and long-term impact of this halting of dialogue work is as yet unclear, stakeholders felt it undoubtedly has resulted in an increase in FGM.

It really affected, after COVID-19 FGM rate got higher: I sometimes go to Erigavo for work so people there told me FGM raised during coronavirus because people are seated or staying at their houses, COVID-19 brought lots of challenges […] It has been impacted extremely for activities that related (to) gathering community, such as awareness which have been reduced or delayed, it resulted (in) lack of direct communication for beneficiaries. (Stakeholder in Somalia)

As this article will go on to argue, gains in social norm shifts are highly precarious. One participant from an INGO in Kenya shared:

You are doing FGM programming and you don’t have a sustainability plan for the gains you would have made then they can easily be done away with by an emergency. (Respondent from INGO, Kenya)

Similarly, in Ethiopia, a worker from UNHCR claimed that:

COVID-19 impacted us and similar organisations comparing to the other year our engagement has decreased. We had to minimise community dialog and different talk we used to have. We were forced to stop our activity because of COVID-19. (UNHCR worker, Ethiopia)

A participant also from an INGO in Somaliland shared:

COVID-19 impacted our work in several different ways. We couldn’t have meetings, discussions or conventions. We can’t sit close in office. We have been affected a lot and I think we are starting over. (Respondent from INGO, Somaliland)

In Ethiopia, a government official acknowledged how critical community work was:

COVID-19 prevented face-to-face conversation with the community because a lot of individuals don’t listen to media. Since the community’s understanding hasn’t changed yet, they may take as a good opportunity to continue with harmful practice. So, when intervention mechanisms stop, it facilitates the practice they are doing. (Government Official, Ethiopia)

Without the visibility of community workers on the ground, increased movement in cross-border cutting was reported. In Kenya, a participant from a local organisation shared:

Remember, there was the curfew, there was a limitation on people who could actually could travel, so the children who actually transported to the other country, or the other county, because in Garissa, for example, and Wajir, there is a border to Somalia, girls are taken across the border, cut, brought back, and nobody can tell because there is a lockdown; there is no school, the children are not missing school, so the teacher will not know if the child is sick or what, so we feel like, during COVID-19, the cases of FGM has really shoot up. Feeling that FGM and CM and DV has shot up. (Participant, local organisation, Kenya)

What, then, do these reflections and observations tell us about where we actually are in development terms in ending FGM/C?

Testing the norm-change models

Turning again to Shell-Duncan et al.’s (2011) useful continuum approach to measuring attitudinal change, the data reveals, in all contexts, a disheartening shift back to a broad community acceptance of gender inequality as the norm. What this potentially reveals is how unstable shifts in gender norms may be, in general. In the monitoring and evaluation of social-norm-change programs, it may become necessary to build in ways of differentiating between different types of change, some of which may be more sustainable than others. For example, the data seems to reveal two kinds of change, that which occurs because the “conditions are favourable” versus “change because beliefs have permanently shifted”. In other words, and drawing on the ecology model, individuals and families may be prepared to adopt a more gender-neutral stance if the material conditions at community and household levels support this. Social norm-change programs often offer some material benefits, for example, in the form of financial incentive to send girls to school, gifts of soap, food, clothes, and better school infrastructures. Community leaders are given per diems to attend workshops and enjoy hotel lunches. Community dialogue work is often accompanied by the distribution of T-shirts and other items. These activities seem to be working in triggering shifts in attitudes that, in good times, are resulting in reductions in FGM. However, the data presented here suggest that practitioners must question the extent to which these shifts represent actual sustainable movement in beliefs about gender. COVID-19 has exposed the fragility of mindset and behavioural changes, which must now inform more nuanced approaches to measuring and testing the sustainability of change.

Communities across the contexts we have explored have clearly slipped back to cultural (and religious) norms that devalue and reduce girls to marriageable commodities. Whilst, in Kenya, communities are largely aware that FGM is against the law, this does not appear to be working as a deterrent. The view of one mother in Kenya was recorded by El-Sadr and Justman (2020): she was jailed for a year after carrying out FGM but stated she was happy, as her daughter had been cut. The authors go on to state: “Many girls have been cut, including girls we had managed to keep safe through the cutting season, which began in October last year. Some girls escaped and they ran to our FGM centre; we had several girls just turn up. For these children, school is a safe place” (El-Sadr and Justman 2020, 35). The importance of FGM as part of a marriage process that brings much needed capital to families is also very striking in the following passage from one of our Somaliland- based CSO participants:

Coronavirus pandemic affected us, the evaluation we did shows us the rising level of FGM during (the) coronavirus pandemic because people are on holidays and most of the FGM acts happen during holidays, so many girls were mutilated because of the holidays. FGM is a source of income for those who do the job, so since world economy declined during coronavirus then FGM acts were doubled by the people who do it as source of income, making from it a profit. They took the advantage of the holidays to continue mutilating girls. (Participant from CSO, Somaliland)

The strong capital dimension to FGM adds strength to the argument that social norm change programs may be successful, in part, because they, to some extent, offer material benefits. In times that are not so harsh, these benefits may be a welcome addition to supplement other income sources. The intersection of material needs and cultural norms determines motivations for FGM and at different levels of the ecology model. Greater focus on how to break this relationship between the material and cultural dimensions of FGM continues to be urgent.

The impact of COVID-19 on activism.

One important way of breaking this link between the material and cultural (and religious, in some contexts, such as Somaliland) aspects of FGM is through activism. This article has already documented the drastic reduction of development practitioners on the ground, and this is also true of activists. For example, one activist from Ethiopia shared:

Yes, our work has been impacted. The project we were going to do on SRH and GBV stopped completely because schools got closed. During lockdown, both men and women stays at home, and she wouldn’t have her own time; as you heard, sexual violence increased during this time. (Activist, Ethiopia)

In Somalia, activist campaigns on the ground against FGM had increased, particularly in IDP (internally displaced person) camps where organisations had been conducting focused activities on WASH and GBV, including FGM. Whilst activists had felt positive about the impact of this work on changing mindsets and challenging gender norms, COVID-19, yet again, appears to have revealed just how fragile change is, with many mothers choosing to cut their daughters as soon as the opportunity to do so without scrutiny appeared (Medinilla et al. 2020).

One activist organisation working to end FGM in Somalia shared:

Yeah, COVID-19 it makes people not come together and as a Somali we are more moral people (this is for the social impact). I think the momentum has lost for many reasons like to educate children and them meeting together as they used to, but that also means the issue is not only about gender now; everyone is focused on health concerns although FGM is a major health concern too, it is not seeing a priority. (Anti-FGM activist, Somalia)

A combination of the fragility of mind-set changes and the lack of prioritisation of end FGM activities as a crisis hits reveals just how little sustainable progress has, in fact, been made and perhaps suggest a radical rethink is needed in how we approach gender transformative work.

Conclusion

The new data presented in this article highlights that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing gender inequalities and increased the risk of gender-based violence as well as its actual prevalence. The closure of schools, movement restriction, and confinement hamper access to prevention, protection, and care services, leaving girls vulnerable, especially in hard-to-reach areas.

The COVID-19 lockdowns present opportunities to carry out FGM “undetected”, and the lack of integration of services within the COVID-19 response has left girls at risk with no recourse to essential prevention, protection, and support services. The disruption of programs to prevent FGM in response to COVID-19 will have a long-lasting legacy in terms of the sheer number of girls cut in the coming decades that may not have been. Preventing potential rises in FGM during and after a pandemic requires urgent attention. Priority actions should include increases in funding and continuity in services during times of crises.

Finally, the rise of a “shadow pandemic” of gender-based violence (GBV) lays bare the stark realities of systemic inequality and discrimination, and the continuing failure at global, regional, and national levels to effectively apply a gender and intersectional lens to policy making, even in emergency response and recovery. Where COVID-19 response and recovery plans have been put in place in a gender-inclusive way, these largely ignore or fail to account for the particular needs and lived experiences of women and girls that are at risk of, or are survivors of, FGM. At community and individual levels, there is a need to look at how to distinguish better between the reasons for shifts in attitudes. Change that has been triggered by circumstantial factors that act to incentivise less harmful behaviours seem more fragile than change that is grounded in a support for the rights of girls. The importance of activism in diverse forms coupled with the visible work of a range of development, health, educational, and community practitioners on the ground is also critical. Ensuring that visible work can continue through a health crisis must now be seen by development practitioners as a priority.

Acknowledgements

This document is an output of the Options led programme supporting the African Led Movement to end FGM/C which is funded by UK aid from the UK government. However, the views expressed and information contained within do not necessary reflect the UK government's official policies and are not endorsed by the UK government, which accepts no responsibility for such views or information or any reliance placed on them.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: [Grant Number ALM].

Notes on contributors

Ottis Mubaiwa

Dr Ottis Mubaiwa is a Teaching Fellow in International Development at the University of Portsmouth,UK. He is a social anthropologist who researches violence against women and girls, gender inclusion and the intersections of culture and development. Ottis has a particular interest in harmful cultural practices such as Female Genital Mutilation, Forced Marriage and Bride Price.

Tamsin Bradley

Tamsin Bradley is a Professor in International Development Studies at the University of Portsmouth, UK. She is a social anthropologist who has worked for over twenty years generating research on what works best to end Violence against Women and Girls in South Asia and Africa. She is the author of 4 monographs including Global Perspectives on Violence against Girls (2020. Routledge) and over fifteen peer review articles.

Jane Meme

Jane Meme, Monitoring and Evaluation and Gender Specialist, Ms Jane Meme is an International Development Consultant in the development sector. Ms Meme's M & E Gender experience emanates from years of senior management roles in the development sector managing development programs and therefore providing short term technical assistance to various Technical Assistance Programs as a consultant. She has extensive skills and experience in project cycle management, working with logical and results frameworks and has technical and management programming expertise in development programs targeting poor and marginalized groups/communities. Jane holds a Masters degree in Project Planning and Management from the university of Nairobi and a first degree in Anthropology and Sociology from Moi University Eldoret.

Notes

1 & 2 Female genital mutilation is a procedure where the female genitals are deliberately cut, injured or changed, but there is no medical reason for this.

2 UN SDG 5 Target 3: Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early, and forced marriage, and female genital mutilation.