Guinea

Type practised

The most widely practised form of female genital cutting (FGC) in Guinea is Type II. Types I and III are also practised and Type IV is beginning to be practised by some families.

Age

In Guinea, two thirds of the girls undergo FGC before the age of nine.

Source: UNFPA-UNICEF

Agent

68% of FGC in Guinea is carried out by traditional practitioners; 31% by trained health providers.

Source: UNFPA-UNICEF

Legal status

Illegal. Legislation specifically prohibiting FGC was passed in 1965 and strengthened in 2000 and 2016. The law is rarely enforced, however.

Source: UNFPA-UNICEF

National progress

• 1965 – FGC prohibited
• 2000 – Law prohibiting FGC strengthened
• 2011 – FGC budget line included in the National Development Budget
• 2012 – A national action plan for FGC (2012-2016) was put in place
• 2012 – FGC module was integrated into eight health schools’ curricula
• 2015 – FGC included in the National Health Development Plan
• 2016 – FGC included in Reproductive Health Norms and Procedures
• 2016 – Penal code was revised, with specific provisions criminalising FGC
• 2016 – Fatwa on FGC

UN programme

The UNFPA-UNICEF joint programme is active in all regions of Guinea. In the programme’s second phase (2014-2017), 2,093 public declarations of FGC abandonment were made. These included declarations by 482 communities, involving more than 635,616 individuals, in 2017.

The UN reports that progress towards change in attitudes and practice is negligible.

Source: UNFPA-UNICEF

Enforcement

FGC prosecutions appear to be rare in Guinea.  A small number of cases have been reported since 2010, but it seems that only suspended sentences and/or small fines resulted when these went to court. The judiciary is reportedly under pressure from communities who wish to continue the practice.

Medicalisation of FGC is increasing, despite the fact that current legislation applies maximum penalties for FGC carried out by a member of the medical profession.

Source: 28 Too Many

Human Development Index ranking

175 in 2018 index, based on 2017 data.

Infant mortality rate

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

Source: 28 Too Many

Maternal mortality rate

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

Source: 28 Too Many

Trends in FGC prevalence

FGC among adolescent girls shows a prevalence rate similar to that of older age groups of women, suggesting little change in FGC practices in Guinea.

Source: 28 Too Many

Prevalence breakdown

By region

In the vast majority of regions, the prevalence of FGC among women aged 15-49 is over 99% and the Labé region in the north has a rate of 100%.  N’Zérékoré, located in the south-east, has a slightly lower prevalence, at 87.1%.

Source: 28 Too Many

Practising ethnic groups

Fula/Peul, Malinke, Soussou, Guerze, Toma, Nalou

Source: UNICEF, based on MICS 2017, UNFPA-UNICEF

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