Chad

Type practised

The most widely practised form of female genital cutting (FGC) in Chad is Type II. Type III is also practised in the eastern part of the country in areas bordering Sudan.

Age

46.7% of women aged 15-49 who have undergone FGC in Chad were cut between the ages of five and nine.

[Source: 28 Too Many]

Agent

Almost all girls who have undergone FGC in Chad were cut by traditional practitioners.

[Source: 28 Too Many]

Legal status

Legislation is not enacted or enforced.

National progress

• 1967 – Chad’s Penal Code makes violence and mutilation a crime
• 2002 – The Government of Chad passed the Reproductive Health Law, which prohibits FGC, but this still requires an implementation decree before it becomes effective and enforceable
• 2003 – FGC included in legislation relating to violence against women
• 2012 – Text of a further law prohibiting FGC passed but implementation decree not yet approved
• 2016 – New Penal Code (not yet in force and relevance to FGC unknown)

Enforcement

According to the UN Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 2017, no cases were prosecuted by the Chad authorities during the previous year.

There is considerable resistance to the proposed laws on FGC in Chad. No national strategy or action plan is in place and the government has focused on raising public awareness against the practice, rather than on enforcement.

Campaigners are concerned that girls from neighbouring countries may be brought into Chad to undergo FGC and avoid prosecution.

[Source: 28 Too Many]

Human Development Index ranking

186 in 2018 index, based on 2017 data.

Infant mortality rate

85 deaths per 1,000 live births (2015).

[Source: 28 Too Many]

Maternal mortality rate

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

[Source: 28 Too Many]

Trends in FGC prevalence

Between 2004 and 2014-2015, the overall prevalence rate for women aged 15-49 fell from 44.9% to 38.4%.

[Source: 28 Too Many]

Prevalence breakdown

By region

Prevalence rates vary widely across Chad.  FGC is most prevalent in the south-eastern regions:  Salamat (96.1% of women aged 15-49), Sila (93.2%) and Guéra (90%).  The regions with the lowest prevalence are in the north-west:  Lac (0.7%), Kanem (0.7%) and Bourkou/Tibesti (1.8%).

By ethnicity/religion

FGC in Chad crosses ethnic and religious lines as it is practised by Christians, Muslims and Animists in roughly equal proportions. The prevalence of FGC among Muslim women aged 15-49 is 50.4%, compared to 40.1% for Catholics and 14.9% for Protestants.

Source: UNICEF, based on DHS 2013-2014

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