Cameroon

Type practised

Girls in Cameroon commonly undergo female genital cutting (FGC) Type II. Type I is also reportedly practised.

Source: 28 Too Many

Age

FGC is most likely to be carried out between the ages of five and nine.

Source: 28 Too Many

Agent

The majority of girls are cut by traditional practitioners, such as birth attendants or midwives.

Legal status

Legal. A draft law has been pending for over 10 years, waiting to be debated in Parliament.

National progress

• 2018 – Minister of Women’s Empowerment and the Family calls for an end to FGC
• 2016 – Reference to genital mutilation included in Penal Code of Cameroon
• 1998 – National action plan on FGC

Human Development Index ranking

153 in 2018 index, based on 2015 data.

Infant mortality rate

52 deaths per 1,000 live births (2016).

Maternal mortality rate

596 deaths per 100,000 live births (2015).

Source: Human Development Index

Trends in FGC prevalence

There is an apparent downward trend in FGC prevalence, although data on the practice is limited. 2% of women between the ages of 45 and 49 have undergone the practice in comparison to 0.4% of 15-19 year olds.

Source: UNICEF, based on 2004 DHS

Prevalence breakdown

By region

FGC is most common in the Extrême-Nord region, where prevalence is 5.4%. In the North region, prevalence is 2.2%, in Adamawa it is 0.2%, in the West it is 0.4%, in the South West it is 2.4%, and it is 1.6% in the East.

Source: UNICEF, based on MICS 2010

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