Sexual Function, Mental Well-being and Quality of Life among Kurdish Circumcised Women in Iran
,
Abstract
Background: Female genital mutilation is an intentional inhumane procedure that threatens girls and women's health. It is especially widespread in developing countries due to cultural, traditional and religious preferences. The aim of the current study was to investigate how circumcision affects women's sexual function.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the urban and rural area of Piranshahr County, Iran, in 2015 among convenience samples of 200 women, 15-49 yr old, who were applying to health care centers for receiving routine health care services. Data collection was conducted with the use of a self-administered written questionnaire to assess female sexual function, mental well-being, and quality of life.
Results: Significant differences were found between circumcised and non-circumcised women in total score of female sexual function index (FSFI) in domains of desire, arousal, vaginal moisture, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain [(P<0.001), MD(95%CI)=5.64(3.64 to 7.64)] and based on Hotelling's T-square, significant differences were found in dimensions of quality of life and FSFI.
Conclusion: The revealed sexual dysfunction among mutilated women gives ground to require that public health systems take actions aimed at implementing special sexual education program to improve sexual functions of mutilated women and changing beliefs and social norms in the community level.
World Health Organization (2017). fact sheet on female genital mutilation. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs241/en/
Mulongo P, McAndrew S, Hollins Martin C (2014). Crossing borders: Discussing the evidence relating to the mental health needs of women exposed to female genital mutilation. Int J Ment Health Nurs, 23:296-305.
Kaplan A, Forbes M, Bonhoure I, et al (2013). Female genital mutilation/cutting in The Gambia: long-term health consequences and complications during delivery and for the newborn. Int J Womens Health, 5:323-31.
Bjälkander O, Bangura L, Leigh B, et al (2012). Health complications of female genital mutilation in Sierra Leone. Int J Womens Health, 4:321-331.
Kaplan A, Hechavarría S, Martín M, Bonhoure I (2011). Health consequences of female genital mutilation/cutting in the Gambia, evidence into action. Reprod Health, 8:26.
Reisel D, Creighton SM (2015). Long-term health consequences of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Maturitas, 80:48-51.
United Nations (1948). Universal declaration of human rights. http://www.un.org/en/events/humanrightsday/2007/hrphotos/declaration%20_eng.pdf
Barstow DG (1999). Female genital mutilation: the penultimate gender abuse. Child Abuse Negl, 23:501-510.
Bogale D, Markos D, Kaso M (2014). Prevalence of female genital mutilation and its effect on women’s health in Bale zone, Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health, 14:1076.
Ouldzeidoune N, Keating J, Bertrand J, Rice J (2013). A description of female genital mutilation and force-feeding practices in Mauritania: implications for the protection of child rights and health. PloS One, 8:e60594.
Berg RC, Denison EM-L, Fretheim A (2010). Psychological, social and sexual consequences of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C): a systematic review of quantitative studies. http://www.kunnskapssenteret.no/en/publications/psychological-social-and-sexual-consequences-of-female-genital-mutilation-cutting-fgm-c-a-systematic-review-of-quantitative-studies
Andersson S, Rymer J, Joyce D, Momoh C, Gayle C (2012). Sexual quality of life in women who have undergone female genital mutilation: a case–control study. BJOG, 119:1606-11.
Bjälkander O, Grant DS, Berggren V, et al (2013). Female genital mutilation in Sierra Leone: forms, reliability of reported status, and accuracy of related demographic and health survey questions. Obstet Gynecol Int, 2013: 680926.
Alsibiani SA, Rouzi AA (2010). Sexual function in women with female genital mutilation. Fertil Steril, 93:722-4.
Fried S, Mahmoud Warsame A, Berggren V, et al (2013). Outpatients’ perspectives on problems and needs related to female genital mutilation/cutting: a qualitative study from Somaliland. Obstet Gynecol Int, 2013: 165893.
Cook RJ, Dickens BM, Fathalla MF (2002). Female genital cutting (mutilation/circumcision): ethical and legal dimensions. Int J Gynaecol Obstet, 79:281-7.
Abdulcadir J, Rodriguez MI, Petignat P, Say L (2015). Clitoral reconstruction after female genital mutilation/cutting: Case studies. J Sex Med, 12:274-81.
Berg RC, Underland V, Odgaard-Jensen J, et al (2014). Effects of female genital cutting on physical health outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Open, 4:e006316.
Moukhyer M (2006). Female genital mutilation (FGM): against women’s health and human rights. The Network: TUFH Women and Health Taskforce Second edition, September 2006.
UK-wide Guidance (2011) Female genital mutilation: caring for patients and child protection. http://www.fgmnationalgroup.org/documents/literature_bma.pdf
Rosen CB, J Heiman, S Leiblum, et al (2000). The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI): a multidimensional self-report instrument for the assessment of female sexual function. J Sex Marital Ther, 26:191-208.
Harper A (1998). Development of the World Health Organisation WHOQOL-BREF quality of life assessment. Psychol Med, 28:551-8.
Malakouti SK, Fatollahi P, Mirabzadeh A, Zandi T (2007). Reliability, validity and factor structure of the GHQ-28 used among elderly Iranians. Int Psychogeriatr, 19:623-34.
Goldberg DP, Hillier VF (1979). A scaled version of the General Health Questionnaire. Psychol Med, 9:139-45.
Werneke U, Goldberg DP, Yalcin I, Üstün B (2000). The stability of the factor structure of the General Health Questionnaire. Psychol Med, 30:823-9.
Yasin BA, Al-Tawil NG, Shabila NP, Al-Hadithi TS (2013). Female genital mutilation among Iraqi Kurdish women: a cross-sectional study from Erbil city. BMC Public Health, 13:809.
Jones SD, Ehiri J, Anyanwu E (2004). Female genital mutilation in developing countries: an agenda for public health response. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol, 116:144-51.
Kizilhan JI (2011). Impact of psychological disorders after female genital mutilation among Kurdish girls in Northern Iraq. Eur J Psychiat, 25:92-100.
Pashaei T, Rahimi A, Ardalan A, Felah A, Majlessi F (2012). Related factors of female genital mutilation (FGM) in Ravansar (Iran). J Women’s Health Care, 1:108.
Yirga WS, Kassa NA, Gebremichael MW, Aro AR (2012). Female genital mutilation: prevalence, perceptions and effect on women’s health in Kersa district of Ethiopia. Int J Womens Health, 4:45-54.
El-Zanaty F WA (2009). Egypt demographic and health survey 2008. ed. https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/fr220/fr220.pdf
Mahmoud MIH (2016). Effect of female genital mutilation on female sexual function, Alexandria, Egypt. Alexandria J Med, 52: 55-59.
Berg RC, Denison E (2012). Does female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) affect women’s sexual functioning? A systematic review of the sexual consequences of FGM/C. Sex Res Social Policy, 9:41-56.
Vloeberghs E, van der Kwaak A, Knipscheer J, van den Muijsenbergh M (2012). Coping and chronic psychosocial consequences of female genital mutilation in the Netherlands. Ethn Health, 17:677-95.
Behrendt A, Moritz S (2005). Posttraumatic stress disorder and memory problems after female genital mutilation. Am J Psychiatry, 162:1000-2.
Koolaee AK, Pourebrahim T, Moh-ammadmoradi B, Hameedy MA (2012). The comparison of marital satisfaction and mental health in genital mutilated females and non-genital mutilated females. Int J High Risk Behav Addict, 1:115-120.
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 46 No 9 (2017) | |
| Section | Original Article(s) | |
| Keywords | ||
| Female circumcision Circumcision Sexual function Women’s health | ||
| Rights and permissions | |
|
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
