COMMON ANALYSIS
Last update: August 2023

COI summary

Legal framework and prevalence of FGM/C

Somalia’s Provisional 2012 Constitution stipulates that ‘circumcision of girls is a cruel and degrading customary practice, and is tantamount to torture [and that] the circumcision of girls is prohibited’. However, there is no existing law in Somalia specifically against FGM/C criminalising or punishing the practice. [Targeting, 2.4, p. 41; COI Query FGM/C 2023, 1., p. 4] Puntland adopted in 2021 an FGM/C Zero Tolerance Bill, however, as reported by UNOCHA in 2022, it is still pending to be passed into law. Somaliland issued a religious fatwa in 2018, which bans the practice of FGM/C. [COI Query FGM/C 2023, 1., p. 4; Targeting, 2.4, p. 41]  

Despite the introduced legal framework, FGM/C is almost universally practiced throughout Somalia. Protection or support measures by NGOs or clan authorities for people that fear FGM/C have not been identified. [COI Query FGM/C 2023, 1., p. 4; Targeting, 2.4, p. 41]

Nearly all women in Somalia have undergone FGM/C and the overall prevalence of FGM/C remains extremely high, with no decrease reported or expected to happen. A survey of 2020 indicated that 99 % of Somali women aged 15-49 have undergone FGM/C. The majority of girls (71 %) are circumcised between 5 to 9 years of age. According to a study conducted in Kismayo in 2022, girls there were subjected to FGM/C between the age of 6 to 15 years old. The most common form of FGM/C practiced in Somalia is the Pharaonic form, also known as infibulation (Type III in WHO classification), which is commonly performed by traditional circumcisers/midwives, with 64 % of women surveyed having experienced it. Women of lower socio-economic status and from rural populations tend to be subjected to a Pharaonic form of FGM/C more often than other women. In early 2022, due to drought crisis and clan conflicts, the prevalence of FGM/C increased in Somaliland (Sool, Sanaag and Togdheer). [COI Query FGM/C 2023, 1., pp. 4-7]

Societal norms and beliefs

FGM/C constitutes a deeply rooted social norm and, as revealed by a 2022 study, most women consider only the Pharaonic type as FGM/C, characterising the Sunni form as ‘normal circumcision’, that they believe does not carry risks or does not cause harm to girls. Girls who had undergone the Sunni type are seen within their communities as being ‘unclean’ and may be pressured, especially in rural areas, to undergo infibulation in order to find a marriage partner. Almost all Somalis declare that they intend to have their daughters circumcised, since FGM/C is seen as a way for families to gain social acceptance and to ensure their daughters can get married off before getting pregnant, while many communities believe that the practice has a religious basis and it is required or at least permitted by Islam. Women and girls returning from Europe are usually pressured to undergo FGM/C. [Targeting, 2.4, p. 39; COI Query FGM/C 2023, 1., p. 6; 2.1.3., p. 12]

Repeated FGM: types and prevalence

Women who have undergone infibulation (type III FGM/C) are subjected to de-infibulation (or defibulation) prior to sexual intercourse. The process is handled by a health professional or even by the husband. Other reasons for which de-infibulation is performed includes preparation for giving birth and medical reasons related to FGM/C, such as complications during menstruation. [COI Query FGM/C 2023, 2.1.1., p. 8]

The process under which an infibulated woman, who has been de-infibulated, is subjected to repeated infibulation is known as re-infibulation. Re-infibulation is a common phenomenon and affects all parts of Somalia. In Somaliland, women often decide to undergo re-infibulation due to societal pressure. Sources reported divergent views on the prevalence of re-infibulation. [COI Query FGM/C 2023, 2.1.2., p. 8; 2.2., p. 13]

There are different reasons for which re-infibulation is performed, with childbirth being a common factor. As reported by UNICEF in 2021, for infibulated women who have been subjected to type III FGM/C, the process is repeated for the first two to four babies. Women usually comply with family’s or husband’s pressure to undergo re-infibulation, as it would be ‘very difficult’ for them to decide on their own and refuse the procedure. Apart from being coerced by the family, women also decide to undergo re-infibulation to remain sexually desirable to their husbands or to become ‘neat and beautiful’ again, after giving birth. [COI Query FGM/C 2023, 2.1.2., pp. 8-10]

Somali women may be submitted to repeated FGM/C for other reasons than giving birth, including due to an accident, or after having had a premarital relationship. Female victims of rape are forced by their families to undergo re-infibulation to restore the honour of the family. There have also been cases in which women were subjected to repeated FGM/C, because it was considered that the initial infibulation was not performed ‘properly’. De-infibulation is sometimes practiced in order to improve women’s health condition. [COI Query FGM/C 2023, 2.1.2., pp. 8-12]

Conclusions and guidance 

   Do the acts qualify as persecution under Article 9 QD?   

FGM/C amounts to persecution.

   What is the level of risk of persecution (well-founded fear)?   

In the case of girls who have not been subjected to FGM/C, well-founded fear of persecution would in general be substantiated in the whole of Somalia, including South-Central Somalia, Puntland and Somaliland.

In the case of women who have not been subjected to FGM/C, the individual assessment of whether there is a reasonable degree of likelihood for the applicant to be subjected to FGM/C should take into account risk-impacting circumstances, particularly the age of the applicant, her marital status, and the views of her family on the practice. The circumstances under which the applicant had managed to avoid being subjected to FGM/C should also be given due consideration.

In the case of women and girls who have been subjected to FGM/C, the individual assessment of whether there is a reasonable degree of likelihood for the applicant to be subjected to repeated FGM/C should take into account risk-impacting circumstances, such as: age, family status, type of FGM/C experienced, family perceptions and traditions towards the practice, etc.

   Are the reasons for persecution falling within Article 10 QD (nexus)?   

Available information indicates that persecution of this profile may be for reasons of membership of a particular social group. For example, women and girls who have not been subjected to FGM/C, may be subjected to persecution for reasons of this innate characteristic and/or common background which cannot be changed (not being subjected to FGM/C) and their distinct identity in Somalia. Persecution of this profile may also be for reasons of religion.