“It still hurts”: Sudanese women speak out on FGM

New Report Highlights Ongoing Trauma and Growing Resistance Among Migrant Women in Egypt

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is more than a harmful practice. It is a lifelong trauma. A new report by Equality Now and Tadwein for Gender Studies, Female Genital Mutilation Amongst Sudanese Migrants in Greater Cairo: Perceptions and Trends, brings this to life by highlighting the voices of Sudanese women and families living in Egypt. Though many have crossed borders in search of safety and dignity, the physical and emotional scars of FGM endure.

“I am completely convinced that it (FGM) is not right. It causes a lot of problems and complications… I felt like FGM weakens a person’s character as if something is taken away from them.”

 – Sudanese woman, Mother, Cairo

For some, the experience of being cut robbed them of their sense of self, confidence, or voice. One father in Giza shared, “My wife and I suffered from it. It caused many problems in our intimate relationship.”

These testimonies are lived realities, reflected in intimate partnerships, how women relate to their bodies, and how they parent the next generation.

Through candid interviews and field research, the report shows how FGM persists despite displacement, awareness campaigns, and legal frameworks. It survives through silence, misinformation, and deeply rooted social norms. 

The legal context 

According to the 2022 report by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), approximately 86% of women aged 15 to 49 in Egypt have undergone FGM, with prevalence varying significantly across geographic regions, education levels, and socioeconomic groups. In Sudan, the rate is similarly high. The 2014 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) found that 86.6% of women in the same age group had undergone FGM. 

In Egypt, following the highly publicized death of an 11-year-old girl in 2007 after being subjected to FGM by a doctor, the Egyptian Ministry of Health imposed a complete ban on FGM, closing previous legal loopholes that allowed the practice to continue under the guise of medical necessity. In 2016, the law was amended to include the sanctioning of both parents and the person/s performing FGM, with imprisonment of five to seven years. The law was further amended in 2021 to enhance penalties and ensure accountability for medical practitioners who perform FGM. 

When families turn to healthcare professionals to perform the procedure under clinical conditions, this lends a false veneer of safety and legitimacy to FGM, masking the reality that no medical setting can make this practice acceptable. Medicalization not only undermines legal prohibitions but also deepens the silence around FGM, making it harder to track and challenge

The invisible trauma

FGM is often spoken about in terms of health consequences: pain, infection, and childbirth complications. However, what the women in this report reveal is more complex. The trauma goes beyond the cut. It enters the psyche, lingers in relationships, and corrodes a woman’s sense of safety and self-worth.

“FGM didn’t just wound me physically. It stayed in my body and my marriage.” Sudanese wife, Cairo.

Some spoke of broken intimacy and deep emotional isolation. Others described a kind of inherited silence, a belief that their suffering was normal or necessary. In many cases, FGM was never explained. It was simply done, and never spoken of again.

 Younger study participants with higher education and women with negative personal experiences had the strongest opposition to the practice. At the same time, fathers who opposed FGM often cited its negative impact on their intimate relationship with their wives.

“It’s completely illogical and something rooted in ignorance.” Young woman, university student

For Sudanese women living in Egypt as migrants or refugees, the trauma of FGM is compounded by structural vulnerabilities. Many face barriers to healthcare, fear interactions with authorities due to precarious legal status, and lack access to culturally appropriate support services. Their voices are often excluded from national FGM campaigns, leaving a critical gap in protection and intervention. This intersection of gender, displacement, and marginalization places them at heightened risk, not only of undergoing FGM but of enduring its consequences in isolation.

Rethinking Legacy: Grandmothers Leading Change

Interestingly, the report highlights how some of the strongest voices against FGM amongst Sudanese migrants today are older women, many of whom once supported the practice themselves. In Sudan, FGM decisions are heavily influenced by older generations within a hierarchical family structure where younger women have less power. Studies have placed female members of the household (mothers, aunts, or grandmothers) at the center of this decision-making process. 

These grandmothers, long seen as the custodians of tradition, are now using their influence to challenge it.

“I believed in it once. I will not let my granddaughter go through it.” Sudanese grandmother, Cairo.

This shift is monumental, led by those who understand the pain most intimately. The courage of FGM survivors is an essential consideration in breaking generational norms and offers a blueprint for future community-led resistance.

In addition, the study reports that economic hardship may have also shifted priorities toward basic necessities like education, healthcare, and housing, leaving little room for traditional practices like FGM. Additionally, legal fears, including the risk of deportation under Egypt’s anti-FGM laws, have become a strong deterrent for many families.

The Myth of a “Milder” Cut

One of the most dangerous misconceptions uncovered in the report is the belief that so-called “less severe” forms of FGM, like Type 1 FGM, are acceptable or even beneficial. Type I refers to the partial or complete removal of the clitoral glans (which constitutes the external and visible portion of the clitoris) and/or the prepuce. In Egypt and Sudan, this type is colloquially known as ‘’Sunna type”.

This false perception that Type 1 is not FGM or is less harmful has allowed the practice to continue under the radar, often covered in religious or cultural justification.

 “Whether severe or mild, every type of FGM is a violation of human rights and bodily autonomy. And when families don’t speak openly, the door remains open for the practice to be repeated without informed consent, and always with lasting harm. All forms of FGM are harmful. All violate bodily autonomy. And all leave scars, whether visible or hidden,” said Naglaa Sarhaan, MENA Gender Adviser at Equality Now. 

A Call to Listen, Amplify, and Act

What these women have shared isn’t easy to hear. But that’s precisely why we need to listen. This is a critical turning point. Many women and families in the report are already challenging the cycle, speaking up, rejecting the practice, and raising community awareness. But they cannot dismantle generations of harm on their own. However, the report revealed that continued divergent trends in FGM persist, with increasing medicalization and social pressure. 

Ending FGM is not a matter of tradition or belief. It’s a matter of human rights, health, and dignity. And it is possible. It begins with open dialogue, migrant-centered support, and collective refusal to let outdated norms shape girls’ futures.

“We believed it was normal. Now we know better and want better for our daughters, ” says a Sudanese mother.