







































The Preventative and Healing 
Properties of Performing Arts in 

Female Genital Mutilation
Alyssa Kardos

Volume One 
Edition One 
February 2021 

 
GEORGETOWN SCIENTIFIC
RESEARCH JOURNAL

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Georgetown Scientific Research Journal 
https://doi.org/10.48091/BNKO5024 

The Preventative and Healing Properties of 
Performing Arts in Female Genital Mutilation 

Alyssa Kardos 

Department of International Health, Georgetown University, Washington, 
D.C., United States

E-mail: aek106@georgetown.edu

Abstract 
Despite being outlawed in many of the countries where it is the most prevalent, female genital mutilation 
(FGM) still persists. It is critical that innovative interventions be adopted in order to better address the 
cultural roots of this gender violence epidemic. The aim of this study is to explore the use of performing 
arts to fill this gap in effective preventative and treatment interventions. Due to the lack of data in this 
field, this study comprises of an extensive literature review. Existing programs were evaluated through 
thorough web searches, interviews of program leads, and analyses of the results. After reviewing existing 
evidence, it has been concluded that performing arts interventions provide positive outcomes in the field 
of FGM due to their ability to engage with cultural assumptions, incite empathy, and cross educational 
boundaries, all through community-connected approaches. Local outcomes were connected to 
government intervention in the recommendations to conclude that all governments should ban FGM, 
allocate public funds to the field of arts and health, and increase the validity of performance-based 
interventions through increased and improved research. 
Keywords: Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), Performing Arts, Performance, Theatre for 
Development
1.�Introduction

In the fight to end FGM, outlawing the 
practice� has proved to not be enough. For 
example, in Egypt, FGM has been a crime since 
2008, but the number of women between the ages 
of 15 and 49 who have undergone FGM is still as 
high as 91% in 20201,2. In order to work 
towards the abandonment of FGM, 
interventions must target attitudes and 
behaviors at the individual and community 
levels. By honing in on the root causes of FGM, 
these targeted interventions can initiate open and 
honest discussions about the negative 

impacts of FGM in order to contribute to 
meaningful change3.  

FGM, while a tradition in many cultures, is a 
violation of human rights. By directly engaging the 
complex driving forces behind this phenomenon, 
performative art has been promising in the process 
of changing the behavior and beliefs of those 
abetting the practice of FGM, including mothers, 
religious leaders, and circumcisers. While there is 
a very limited amount of research on the 
quantitative effectiveness of using performing arts 
to reduce the practice of FGM, the existing 
accounts are hopeful for the future of this nexus. 

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This study serves to gather existing accounts and 
research to propose performance as an 
underutilized but nonetheless helpful intervention 
for the prevention and treatment of FGM, because 
of its abilities to cross language barriers, engage 
empathy, empower self-expression, and challenge 
culturally ingrained issues.  

The field of performative arts (including theater, 
dance, music, and radio) and its role in health 
interventions is becoming more relevant in 
research. Just over the past two decades, academia, 
NGOs, and many governments have increasingly 
conducted research on the effects of the arts overall 
on health and well-being4. The Health Evidence 
Network Synthesis Report 67, which focused on the 
evidence of the arts in improving health and well-
being, synthesized evidence from over 900 
publications at the intersection of arts and health 
and gives recognition to the positive role of arts on 
health. The results are clustered into two themes: 
prevention and promotion, and management and 
treatment. Under prevention and promotion, the 
report found that the arts can affect the social 
determinants of health, support child 
development, encourage health-promoting 
behaviors, help to prevent ill health, and support 
caregiving4. In the theme of management and 
treatment, the findings displayed that the arts 
could help people experiencing mental illness, 
support care for people with acute conditions, help 
to support people with neurodevelopmental and 
neurological disorders, assist with the management 
of non-communicable diseases, and support end-
of-life care4. This report serves as proof of the 
tangible and impactful effect the arts can have on 
individual well-being and global health.  

FGM is one health issue in which the arts can 
benefit survivors and those at risk by facilitating 
healing and targeting incidence. While Finn and 
Fancourt’s Health Evidence Network Synthesis 
Report does not cover FGM in its evidence, arts 
interventions were successful in improving other 
culturally embedded global health issues, such as 
the stigma against LGBTQ communities. As 
FGM also requires culturally sensitive solutions, 

the arts have the potential to be transformative in 
this health issue’s outcomes.  

The topic of FGM is especially pertinent in 
2020 as a result of COVID-19 lockdowns. There 
are severe long- and short-term implications of 
these policies. In the long term, estimates provided 
by Avenir Health, Johns Hopkins University, and 
Victoria University predict that lockdown-related 
disruption over six months will disrupt programs 
to end FGM, potentially resulting in two million 
additional cases of FGM over the next 10 years5. 
The Kapenguria Theater Group, a theater group 
fighting FGM, reported in July 2020 that the 
number of girls being circumcised has drastically 
risen since schools were closed due to COVID-
196. Given these increased rates of FGM and the
subsequent need to find unique interventions, it is
critical to produce effective and innovative projects
combatting FGM.

Sections 3 and 4 will introduce the topics of 
FGM and performance for development. Section 
5 will assess existing performance programs 
working in FGM prevention and health 
promotion through covering existing research and 
giving an overview of existing programs through an 
in-depth internet search and interviews with 
professionals working at the programs. Section 6 
will look at the ways in which performance is used 
to improve mental health outcomes of survivors of 
FGM.  

Due to a lack of reporting of data and awareness 
of positive evidence of the arts in health 
interventions, there has been little translation from 
projects to policy4. Section 7 will report on current 
policy revolving around FGM and arts 
interventions and give recommendations on 
moving towards the solution.  
2. Methodology

In order to achieve the aim of this research, the
chosen methodology integrated literature review, 
expert background knowledge, quantitative data in 
health databases, and primary source surveys and 
interviews with organizations who work in the 
intersection of FGM and performing arts. 

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Primarily, the aim was to establish a cause-and-
effect relationship between performance and 
FGM, stipulating that the implementation of 
performance interventions prevents FGM and 
improves outcomes for survivors. In order to do so, 
both quantitative and qualitative data were 
required. The literature review allowed for 
synthesis of already existing research, though 
limited, to include a blend of quantitative and 
qualitative data. It was especially important that 
journals from countries where FGM is the most 
prevalent were included. Other sources outside of 
journals could include newspaper articles, in 
particular theater reviews, and books on the subject 
of FGM or performing arts in development and 
health.  

Background research that was conducted also 
included speaking with experts in the broader area 
of arts and health. The interviews incorporated 
both short surveys to collect basic information and 
longer interviews encompassing a comprehensive 
review of the organization’s work. Criteria for 
interview was kept to representatives of 
organizations with performance-based FGM 
interventions. Due to the limited number of 
research and practice in this specific area, no other 
factors for interview criteria were restricted. 
Interviewees were based in several different 
countries, including Egypt and Italy. As seen in 
Table 1, each interviewee answered a list of 
questions over a Zoom interview. The interviews 
were later transcribed in order to search for 
keywords and themes across programs and 
descriptions. 

Table 1. FGM Organization Interview Guide 
Main Question Probes and Further 

Question 
1.What kind of
programming does
your organization
do at the
intersection of

-Please describe the programs
in more detail.
-Where do you work?
-Approximately how many
people have you served/how

performance and 
FGM? 

many people does each project 
reach? 

2. Do you utilize a
specific
methodology in
your organization?

-What does community
participation look like during
the programs?
-Which populations do you try
to reach?
-Where did this methodology
come from?

3.What are your
measures of
success?

-Does your organization have
public reports of project
evaluations?
- What are the results of the
programs in these
measurements?

4.Have you seen
any translation of
work in performing
arts and FGM into
legislation? Is so,
where?
5.Where do you see
the future of your
programs going?
Where do you see
the future of this
intersection going?
6.Do you have any
helpful article,
book, or video
recommendations
for further
research?

2.1 Health Promotion Models and Theories 
The analyzed and proposed interventions in this 

paper fall under the broad category of global health 
promotion, as they seek to enable people to 
“increase control over, and to improve their 
health”7. As such, it is important to consider health 
promotion theory and models in the application of 
performance as a tool to prevent FGM. The social-

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ecological model traditionally reflects the range of 
factors that put people at risk of violence. In Figure 
1, this model was applied to reflect the different 
groups influencing the practice of FGM, centered 
on the individual as the female at risk of FGM, in 
order to understand the range of audiences for 
consideration in approach. Each group, with its 
own motivations and backgrounds, may require 
different approaches in order to shift beliefs and 
attitudes toward FGM. 

Figure 1. FGM Groups Social-Ecological Model 
2.1.1 Individual and Interpersonal. 
     The theory of planned behavior (TPB) serves 
as a useful framework to evaluate the potential 
impact of interventions on the individual and the 
effects of interpersonal relationships. The focus of 
this model is behavioral intent, which predicts 
actual behavior. The theory states that behavioral 
intentions are influenced by the attitude towards a 
behavior, subjective norms, the perceived societal 
approval rating of the action, perceived behavioral 
control, and the individual perception of one’s 
own agency8. The TPB has successfully been used 
to predict other behaviors and intentions 
including smoking, drinking, and health service 
utilization.  
2.1.2 Community and Social. 

Social network theory benefits the 
understanding of an individual’s larger networks. 
This theory posits that social networks can 
positively or negatively influence an individual’s 
health behaviors or outcomes. The network's 
effects are attributed to the types of connections 

an individual has, based on technical measures 
such as density, size, centrality, homogeneity, and 
frequency of ties. Types of interventions include 
enhancing existing networks through the 
development of new social linkages, creation of 
community health workers, and advancing 
community capacity building.  
2.2 Measures of Success 

FGM is very difficult to monitor, because it is 
unethical to check for its occurrence (invasion of 
privacy). Instead, data is reliant on self-reporting, 
which in turn, raises issues in the data collection. 
Data is underreported due to many factors, 
including a lack of criminal procedure in both 
developed and developing countries, the 
controversial practice of having children who have 
undergone FGM speak against their parents in 
court, and a lack of infrastructure for monitoring 
capabilities9. Furthermore, self-reporting has been 
recognized as very unreliable10. As such, 
organizations more frequently measure the success 
of interventions through qualitative means, 
including testimonials, increased rates of female 
education, and overall spending on healthcare. As 
performance-based interventions are variously 
implemented and rarely evaluated by the same 
means, it is necessary to interpret results as 
indicators, in lieu of definitive results. 

This study will focus on these indirect measures 
in order to evaluate the success of interventions.  
3. Background on Female Genital Mutilation

The World Health Organization (WHO)
classifies FGM as “all procedures that involve 
partial or total removal of the external female 
genitalia, or other injury to the female genital 
organs for non-medical reasons”11. The practice is 
primarily carried out on young girls between 
infancy and age 1511. WHO is firm in stating that 
FGM has no health benefits and only harms girls 
and women. The United Nations Population 
Fund-United Nations Children’s Fund (UNFPA-
UNICEF) Joint Programme on FGM estimates 

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that more than 200 million women and girls 
worldwide have been deliberately mutilated, 
specifically in 30 countries12.  

Out of the 30 countries listed, the rates of FGM 
differ per location. In countries such as Somalia, 
Guinea, Djibouti, Egypt, and Mali over 90% of 
women and girls aged 15–49 have undergone some 
form of FGM12. Table 2 (in the appendix) shows 
the aforementioned and other relevant countries 
with high prevalence rates. Meanwhile, other 
countries qualify as practicing FGM primarily due 
to the presence of diaspora communities13. 
Approximately 180,000 girls and women within 
large African diaspora communities in Europe are 
at risk each year14. 
     However, as reported by The Guardian in early 
2020, the number of FGM survivors could be 
much higher due to the failure of countries to 
record cases15. While the UNFPA-UNICEF 
report primarily records data from 30 countries, 
research from Equality Now, the End FGM 
European Network, and the US End FGM/C 
Network reports “hundreds of thousands” of cases 
across 92 countries in Asia, the Middle East, 
Europe, North America, and Latin America15. 
The lack of data reduces the urgency of public 
officials to act, resulting in harmful inaction from 
governments. In the United States alone, over 
500,000 women and girls are survivors of FGM or 
at risk of being victim15. Beyond the European 
Union and UK, cases have also been found in Iran, 
Israel, and Russia. Even these numbers could be 
underestimated, as the data largely focuses on 
diaspora communities and ignores other prevalent 
ones, such as Christian communities in the United 
States15. The exact number of girls and women 
who have undergone FGM is still mostly 
unknown.  
3.1 Types of FGM 

The health risks and other adverse effects of 
FGM vary based on the type of FGM conducted11. 

1. Type I describes the partial or total removal
of the clitoral glans and/or the clitoral
hood.

2. Type II describes the partial or total
removal of the clitoral glans and the labia
minora, sometimes with the removal of the
labia majora.

3. Type III is also known as infibulation,
which is the narrowing of the vaginal
opening by sealing it. The seal is created
through repositioning and stitching.

4. Type IV includes other non-medical,
harmful procedures to female genitalia,
including nicking, piercing, incising, and
more.

Estimates from 2004 predict that around 90% 
of FGM cases include Type I, II, or IV, and about 
10% include Type III16. The present study is not 
concerned with the eradication of a particular type 
of FGM, but rather the entire practice, as all types 
are a violation of human rights and cause harm to 
females.  
3.2 Types of FGM 

The risks of FGM vary from physical to 
psychological to economic, with lasting negative 
effects. While the type of FGM, described above, 
determines all associated risks, overall health risks 
include severe pain, hemorrhage, genital tissue 
swelling, fever, infections, urinary problems, 
wound healing problems, injury to surrounding 
genital tissue, shock, and death17. Beyond these 
risks, long-term complications may include urinary 
problems, vaginal problems, scarred tissues, 
menstrual problems, and increased risk of 
childbirth complications, including newborn 
deaths, and psychological trauma. 

Girls are expected to undergo FGM in order to 
avoid stigma and isolation from family18. Because 
of this, refusal to be cut can also lead to harmful 
socioeconomic effects. Overall, however, 
preventing FGM provides major benefits for 
women, communities and economies. The health 
outcomes of performing FGM results in high 
healthcare costs for the individual and the state19. 
Dr. Ian Askew, Director of WHO’s Department 
of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research, 
claims that FGM is extremely harmful to a 

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country’s economic resources. WHO reports that 
“the total costs of treating the health impacts of 
FGM would amount to $1.4 billion USD globally 
per year, if all resulting medical needs were 
addressed.” FGM presents a significant economic 
burden for both the individual and the state. 
3.3 Reasons for Performing FGM 
3.3.1.   Individual and Interpersonal. 

 There are many overlapping factors that 
contribute to the ongoing practice of FGM. 
People often tend to suspect that FGM is 
attributed to religion. Nevertheless, there is no 
evidence that supports this stereotype. In Egypt, it 
is a “centuries-old tradition,” or “tribal ritual” 
embedded in the culture. Though there are no 
writings in religious texts that prescribe the 
practice of FGM, practitioners often believe that 
the practice has religious support11. Furthermore, 
in some locations, FGM is still more prevalent in 
certain religious communities. For example, in 
Burkina Faso, FGM is higher among Burkinabe 
Muslims than in other religious communities20. 
While stereotypes can conflate Islam and FGM, it 
is practiced by all major religions21. Furthermore, 
the practice of FGM predates the establishment of 
all major religions. Thus, while some religious 
communities may have higher rates of FGM, 
religion is not the origin or driving force for 
FGM.  

The views of religious leaders vary: some 
promote it, others consider it irrelevant, and some 
actively contribute to its abandonment. Religious 
leaders and beliefs are featured in many drama skits 
and other advocacy efforts in order to target 
religious misconceptions and change attitudes. 
NCA Ethiopia has worked with faith leaders for 
over a decade, releasing joint statements 
condemning FGM, driving community 
conversations, and leading trainings. In a 
partnership with the Inter Religious Council of 
Ethiopia (IRCE), the umbrella organization for 
seven faith-based organizations in Ethiopia,�
/PSXFHJBO�$IVSDI���"JE������SFMFBTFE����UIJT����KPJOU

 statement in 2011: 
“We religious fathers and leaders will seriously 

teach that female genital mutilation, 
early marriage, abduction and related harmful 
practices committed against women have severe 
consequences on the lives of our daughters, 
sisters, and mothers have no support in any 
religious teaching. We have reached an 
agreement for religious admonition to be 
administered on all people committing the 
practices in violation of the Call”22. 

This statement summarizes the efforts of anti-
FGM organizations to collaborate with religious 
leaders. Performance-based interventions 
featuring religious leaders can be especially 
effective in targeting a common community 
misconception/assumption about FGM. 
3.3.2.   Fear and Taboo. 

Ostensibly, reasons for its practice vary across 
region. In Ijurin, Nigeria, primary beliefs behind 
its practice include it being taboo not to be 
circumcised, an association of the clitoris and a 
woman being too sexually active is cultivated, the 
need to preserve a family’s honor, a concept that 
the procedure widens the vagina to make birth 
easier, and lastly the idea that an uncircumcised 
woman is a sex slave23. Other factors involve the 
marriageability of women, a vague religious 
association — although, as mentioned previously, 
no religious text explicitly endorses the practice 
— local structures of power, and traditions 
of neighboring groups11. The practice is 
typically conducted by older women in the 
community who are traditional circumcisers11. 
More recently, the practice has evolved to 
include health care providers and medical 
professionals carrying out FGM, because of a 
belief that it could be safer than having it done by 
local circumcisers. Because this issue is largely 
cultural, interventions must be sensitive and 
empathetic in their approach. 

The underlying causes for the perpetuation of 
FGM are reflected in Figure 2 through the socio-
ecological model. This model emphasizes that no 

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single factor can explain why FGM still exists or 
why some females face a higher risk of undergoing 
FGM24. Considered in this way, potential 
interventions can be specialized to target the 
varying social dynamics of each group. Strategies 
addressing a larger cultural norm on the societal 
level should look different from working with 
medical professionals to inform them of the 
harmful implications that come from medicalized 
FGM. This figure can be a guide to the different 
approaches an organization should take in order to 
be attentive to each level of organization. 

Figure 2. Socio-ecological model of the underlying 
factors of FGM 

On the individual level, ideas involving a 
person’s perceived health, religion, residence, and 
socioeconomic status are all important for 
understanding the reasons for undergoing FGM. 
All of these factors control information and 
knowledge a person can access at an individual 
level. The interpersonal level reflects the 
communication of an individual's beliefs, which 
contributes to family or peer pressure. The 
organizational level reinforces the existing beliefs 
through medicalization and religion, validating the 
practice through the institutions’ credibility. The 
community and society levels reflect the desire of 
an individual and family to “maintain ethnic 
identity and social unity” by carrying out what is 
recognized as a tradition in their community24. 

Other factors, such as gender, cross socio-
ecological divides in their impact.  The gender of 
the individual and genders of those in 
interpersonal interactions influence attitudes 
towards FGM. According to data compiled in 

Table 3 (in the appendix), women and men have 
separate attitudes towards FGM, with differing 
opinions on whether FGM should end. 
Additionally, the sexuality and gender of partners 
greatly influences the practice of FGM. In two 
studies it was found that men preferred women 
who were circumcised based on the belief that the 
men would have enhanced sexual enjoyment24. 
With the consideration of marriage, in a study in 
Somalia, 96% of men preferred to marry 
circumcised women, while just 2.8% said they 
would possibly consider marrying uncircumcised 
women. 

The methodology in Section 2 explained the 
intervention models which match each group. In 
general, the reasons for carrying out FGM are 
largely based in tradition that originates from 
misconception. In this context, performance serves 
as an educational platform in addition to a method 
of addressing deeply ingrained cultural beliefs. The 
explanation of its function and evidence for its 
effectiveness are covered in Section 5. 
3.4 Progress 

The progress toward achieving fewer instances 
of FGM and shifting attitudes can be measured in 
a few ways: the number of girls and women who 
want FGM to stop, the number of men who want 
FGM to stop, the number of women ages 15–49 
who have been cut vs other age groups, and the 
overall number of women who have been cut (per 
country or otherwise). It is difficult to gather 
country data on each national decline because of 
poor data collection. Neither the World Bank nor 
UNICEF have consistent data for countries over 
the past 2–40 years25,26. Still, UNICEF was able to 
conclude that among girls and women in high-
prevalence countries, within the last two decades, 
the proportion of girls and women who want the 
practice to end has increased by 100%, as displayed 
in Figure 325. 

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Figure 3. Percentage of girls and women aged 15 
to 49 years familiar with FGM and believe that the 
practice should stop, in high-prevalence 
countries*. 

At the same time, it is important to note that 
although the trend is still positive, the progress has 
slowed. Between 2000 and 2007, there was a 16% 
increase in reported cases  followed by a 10% 
increase from 2007 to 2020. Furthermore, the data 
in Figure 3 include a wide range of ages, 15 to 49, 
though laws and interventions have changed 
significantly in the decades between those age 
groups. In most countries listed in Table 2, except 
for The Gambia and Somalia, the prevalence of 
FGM among 15- to 19-year-olds is recorded to be 
lower than the prevalence among the entire range 
of 15- to 49-year-olds27. These changes are most 
likely due to the activism, research, and legislation 
of the last few decades28. 

The inclusion of FGM in the UN Sustainable 
Development Goals (SDGs) reflects the 
prevalence of FGM and the ongoing global battle 
to end it. Target 5.3 of the SDGs attempts to 
“eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early 
and forced marriage, and female genital 
mutilation”29. Established in 2015, the SDGs have 
until 2030 to do so. The practice has become less 
common in many countries, but in order to reach 
the global target of elimination by 2030, progress 
would need to be 10 times faster30. Moreover, 

progress is not yet universal. It is particularly 
difficult to address FGM in locations where 
prevalence is unknown. 
4. Performance for Development and Health

“Performance for development” is not an
established term within the arts, but one that this 
study will use to encompass the performative art 
forms beyond theater, including radio, film, 
puppetry, and public demonstrations. This term 
draws on “Theater for Development (TfD)” which 
is defined as “an alternative communication 
strategy which is people-centered and is deeply 
rooted in community development by empowering 
marginalized groups to consciously take up the 
onus of effecting some change within their 
immediate environment”31. Performance for 
development aims to provide people with an 
improved quality of life, in line with the SDGs 
mentioned above. This chapter will describe the 
theoretical frameworks that guide impact in each 
art form. 
4.1 Prevention 

TfD can encompass the art forms of drama, 
comedy, spoken-word, music, singing and/or 
dance, miming, and participatory or improvisation 
forms. This field is rooted in two concepts: a 
critical pedagogy and participatory theater32. The 
former was developed in the late 1960s and 
articulated by Paulo Freire, whose literacy 
campaigns for adult education in South America 
led to the development of a pedagogy of liberation. 
Freire proposes learning centered on the reality of 
the learner with dialogue between teacher and 
student. These values led to the formation of the 
Freirean dialogic model, which engages learners, 
facilitators, and the community in a critical 
reflection of its situation in order to create social 
change32. In his evaluation of TfD, Tim Prentki 
connected Freire’s student-centered pedagogy to 
community-centered theater, or “theater which 
takes as its starting point an issue or set of issues 
that are revealed as important by research processes 

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that set a premium on listening to the experiences 
of all sections of that community”32. Freire’s work 
generates critical community consciousness and 
empowers its members to take action.   

The second root, participatory theater, comes 
from the work of Augusto Boal, who built upon 
the work of Freire to bring theater back to styles 
more similar to those of medieval European 
carnival forms, before the ruling class commanded 
theater32. In his book Theatre of the Oppressed, 
Augusto Boal introduces forms of theater where 
“the spectator starts acting again,” including forum 
theater, image theater, and invisible theater33. Boal 
describes the central purpose of participatory 
theater by explaining its function within illiteracy. 
He relays that theater can serve the oppressed as a 
language33. His design for this communication, 
named forum theater, involves the spectator 
assuming the role of the protagonist to change the 
dramatic action, try out solutions, and discuss 
plans for change. In this way, the performance is a 
“rehearsal for the revolution,” as Boal famously 
declared. He adds that he believes that “theater is 
a weapon, and it is the people who should wield 
it”33. Boal is clear in his interpretation of theater as 
a tool by which people can create change. 

Boal’s model of participatory theater, as shaped 
by his design for the theater of the oppressed, has 
impacted the function of existing programs today. 
Hara TV 3, an interactive theater-based FGM 
intervention, describes interactive theater as 
breaking the “fourth wall” in order to “illustrate 
real-life political and moral debates”34. They 
explain that interactive theater gives the audience 
an opportunity “to become the main characters on 
the stage.” This type of engagement is crucial 
because it allows audience members to empathize 
with the actors, linking their own lives and stories 
to the one being told. In this way, TfD prevents 
FGM through its ability to educate and empower 
survivors and their communities to speak and act 
out against FGM, proactively reducing the 
practice before it occurs. 

4.2 Treatment 
 In the realm of treatment, the concept of drama 

therapy is central to the nexus of theater and 
treatment. The first theoretical account of drama 
therapy is based in Greek theater, specifically the 
tragedy35. Aristotle portrays tragedy as a catharsis 
which releases deep feelings61. Building on 
Aristotle’s work, in 1857, Jacob Bernays proposed 
a theory that “catharsis” is a medical metaphor, 
connecting the purge of the soul through tragedy33. 
In a modern context, author Emma Brodzinski 
describes drama therapy as a psychological therapy 
in her book Theatre in Health and Care36. The 
drama therapist combines the art form with 
psychotherapy practice to enhance well-being by 
building trusting relationships, developing 
communication and social interaction skills, 
exploring feelings to overcome negative mental 
health effects, and developing creative skills for 
self-advocacy37. It is a creative and clinical 
procedure. That is, in the case of treating FGM 
survivors, drama therapy is primarily utilized as a 
method of mental health care, focused on 
increasing self-esteem and working through 
trauma.  

Film is recognized as a method of providing a 
common language for communication in 
multilingual societies. Much like with theater in 
non-literate communities, film acts to bridge gaps, 
though its mass distribution is less accessible in 
rural villages. In his 1971 UNESCO report on the 
role of film in development, Peter Hopkinson 
notes the ability of film to “create a climate for 
practical innovation, stimulate the thirst for 
knowledge, and provide instruction, in particular 
fields, such as agriculture and health.” Film, in its 
capacity to contribute to better health outcomes, 
can support educational efforts, target stigma 
through empathetic appeal, and foster awareness 
for a particular issue66. In the Health Evidence 
Network Synthesis Report 67, film is reported as 
being effective in reducing ethnic tensions and 
improving cultural competence, reducing pain and 
distress (through virtual reality relaxation), and 

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improving parental attitudes towards LGBTQ-
identifying children4. 
4.3 Awareness 

Performing arts also have the ability to increase 
advocacy, reaching new audiences and increasing 
private donor funding to the cause of FGM. There 
are a plethora of shows and films depicting the 
story of FGM. In her play Emotional Creature, Eve 
Ensler features the monologue of a girl who runs 
away from her family to avoid undergoing FGM. 
The monologue depicts the girl praying for her god 
to spare her. These types of work may be the first 
point of exposure of many communities to FGM. 
In 2016, there was a popular play named Cuttin’ It 
that toured in the United Kingdom. This play 
specifically exposes the prevalence of FGM in 
developed countries and introduces the audience to 
that specific experience in a “sensitive 
exploration”38. While many of these performances 
are exclusively shown in high-income countries, 
their influence on public opinion and increased 
attention is invaluable. Performance has the 
unique ability and great potential to cover a range 
of work in the fight against FGM, by using a 
community-based approach, providing education 
experiences, inciting activism, and including 
sensitization work. 
5.�Assessing Existing Prevention Programs

The theories of planned behavior and social�
networks effectively demonstrate that in order to 
intervene in a holistic manner that addresses all 
levels of the socio-ecological model as 
demonstrated in Figures 1 and 2, interventions 
must target planned behavior, change subjective 
norms, and establish community health workers or 
activists. These theories also connect to the ideals 
set forth by the developers of TfD, emphasizing 
the need to incorporate the whole community in a 
grassroots approach that meets their cultural 
needs, while pushing towards the abandonment of 
FGM. Beyond this overarching framework of
IFBMUI� QSPNPUJPO
� QFSGPSNBODF� JOUFSWFOUJPOT�
TIPVME�BMTP�NFFU�UIF�OFFET�PG�'(.�TQFDJGJDBMMZ��
1MBO�*OUFSOBUJPOBM
�BO�JOEFQFOEFOU�EFWFMPQNFOU�

BOE� IVNBOJUBSJBO organization focused on 
advancing children’s rights and equality for 
girls, presents seven ways to end FGM. NGOs 
that counter FGM use these methods to 
better understand the existing programs 
working in performing arts and FGM and 
what they accomplish. Note that the methods 
often do not exist in isolation of each other, 
but often cross over.  

Out of the programs observed, many fall into 
two models. The interventions are either 
performance-oriented or workshop-oriented with 
performance aspects. In the performance-oriented 
design, the projects usually focus on a play, radio 
show, or other performance then incorporate a 
forum for discussion. The second design 
often features a central workshop oriented 
around performance with other components, 
sometimes concluding in a performance. Both 
models work as effective methods because of 
their connection to traditional health promotion 
frameworks, through their ability to fulfill the 
seven following methods of ending FGM.  
5.1 Challenging discriminatory reasons for FGM 

 The first method is to challenge the 
discriminatory reasons underpinning the practice 
of FGM3. These include the need to control 
female sexuality and gender roles. By 
targeting these underlying assumptions, 
traditions can be challenged in a way that 
understands cultural perspective. Through 
interactive theater, drama workshops, and 
puppet shows, organizations fighting FGM 
target underlying beliefs about girls that lead to 
FGM. The different art forms depict alternate 
realities where women are empowered, allowing 
communities to imagine a future with new 
gender norms and treatment of women. 

Tostan International, a West African-based 
development organization working directly 
with rural communities, does not focus 
specifically on FGM, but their programs report 
changes in FGM 

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practices39. Their workshops primarily focus on 
education in democracy and human rights, which 
facilitate conversations about women’s rights. 
Participants learn materials that encourages them 
to challenge preexisting notions and decide how 
they feel about FGM based on shared values and 
concepts of human rights. The participants engage 
with FGM by choice, after being introduced to the 
broader field of human rights and shape their 
curriculum through their own actions. Although 
Tostan did not intend to end FGM, between 
August 1997 and December 2009 its educational 
programs, which involved theater as a method of 
learning about human rights and encouraged 
public theater as a form of protest, challenged 
traditional notions on a widescale, fostering 
numerous collective declarations abandoning 
FGM. 

Organizations successfully reproduce this 
methodology in other settings: Plan International 
works with Sahar Education, an international 
nonprofit providing education to Afghan girls, to 
produce educational puppet shows to target FGM 
in Egypt; ARC Theater works in East London to 
train teachers about FGM, targeting any biases 
that might exist and training them to account for 
the underlying reasons of FGM; and Active Voices 
uses dramas to address the needs of youth 
specifically40, 41, 42. 
5.2 Change Traditions 

 The decision to abandon the practice of FGM 
must come from the communities themselves, 
reflect a collective choice, be reinforced publicly, 
and be grounded on a firm human rights 
foundation18. In doing so, communities can direct 
their own social transformation, thus changing 
traditions so that individuals and families do not 
feel as if they are breaking away from their 
community by denying FGM. Through 
community workshops and programs, 
organizations involve all members of the 
community, including village leaders, religious 
leaders, circumcisers, and families. Tostan and�
)BSB�57�QSFTFOU�UXP�HSFBU�FYBNQMFT�PG�IPX�UIFTF 

 programs manifest and yield effective results. 
Tostan’s Community Empowerment Program 

exemplifies work that directly involves 
communities in the transformation of traditions. 
The class honed in on human rights, democracy, 
and governance and incorporated multiple 
teaching methods. Diane Gillespie from Tostan 
International believes that theater exercises in 
particular kept people coming to class, because 
they engage everyone involved39. Exercises include 
everything from simple “invisible ball” exercises, 
where participants pass an invisible ball to 
connect with each other, to writing and 
performing their own skits. 

 As a result of these classes, participants came 
to the understanding that FGM could 
change. Sessions in human rights and democracy, 
showed participants that their voices have a place 
in society and can effect change. Learning 
about an international human rights framework 
empowered participants to challenge existing 
social norms such as FGM43. In a report 
Gillespie wrote with her sister, the founder of 
Tostan, Molly Melching, on the transformation 
of Tostan’s approach, they report that the 
culmination of a workshop in 1997 involved a 
community effort that collectively abandoned 
the practice of FGC43. The data collected 
reports abandonment in 4,121 
communities in Senegal, 364 in Guinea, 48 in The 
Gambia, 34 in Somalia, and 23 in Burkina Faso43. 

Hara TV is a fast-paced, interactive, comedic 
project in Egypt that uses theater to educate people 
about FGM. Like the example in Ijurin, Nigeria, 
this project also incorporates community 
participation. While the show is performed by two 
actors from the project, the director asks the 
audience questions throughout the performance to 
ignite discussion. The article “Using comedy to 
combat a cruel tradition,” describes the past 
performances of the Hara TV troupe. In one 
performance depicted, the group interacts with an 
audience of 40 circumcised girls varying from ages 
13 to 201. The director of the project states that the 
troupe’s goal is to “use our performance to create 

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an opportunity to talk about the difficult topic of 
female genital mutilation, beyond the confines of 
religion or medicine, in very practical terms.” The 
performance comedically depicts a mother 
warning her daughter about the effects of not 
going through FGM, a girl being told what not to 
do and wear, and more. These scenes are followed 
by conversations where the audience is able to open 
up about their experiences, from not being able to 
play in the streets like boys to having many duties 
in the home. Actress Sherin Hegazy, who 
performs in the show, believes 70% of the message 
is communicated through the conversation after 
the show, explaining that in the conversation they 
are able to disagree, clarify misunderstandings, and 
answer questions from the audience44. 

After the event, one 18-years old female 
expresses, “Now that I’ve seen the play, I 
understand the problems circumcisions cause for 
girls.” Another woman in the audience with a 13-
year-old-daughter explains that while she has been 
thinking of having her daughter circumcised, after 
seeing the performance, she will not. Even though 
those in the audience had all already undergone 
FGM, the play encouraged them to stop the 
practice in the future. In this way, the play takes a 
grassroots approach, reaching communities 
through individuals within them. 

After the director Nada Sabet sold her piece to 
the United Nations, they decided to fund an 
additional 160 performances in Egypt in 2014. 
Approximately 200 performances have taken place 
in Egypt since its commencement34. In a 2016 
report “Hara TV: The Journey,” written by Noon 
Creative Enterprises and UNFPA, the 
organizations report that in villages in upper and 
lower Egypt, the interactive theater activities 
achieved efficient communication of anti-FGM 
and anti-early marriage messages as well as 
establish the importance of creative methods of 
learning44.  

In a 2016 report on their programs, Noon 
Creative Enterprise explains its methodology 
behind Hara TV 3: 
i"T�TVDI�UIFJS��FOHBHFNFOU��JT���OPU���CBTFE���PO

laughing about FGM; it rather laughs at the 
many wrong facts, myths and 
misconceptions that communities hold onto to 
maintain the practice. Making those facts into 
a public and collective laughing matter, 
communities become accomplices in the 
change movement.” 

Noon Creative enterprise highlights the idea 
that FGM is most effectively abandoned by a 
community when they work together rather than 
individually18. Both Hara TV and Tostan work 
within communities to produce approaches that 
are non-judgmental and encourage collective 
action.  
5.3 Educate girls on their bodily autonomy 

 Several recent studies have demonstrated that 
female education writ large is associated with a 
decline in FGM45, 46, 47, 48. Sanaba, a 24-year-old 
mother from Mali, who was one of the last girls in 
her family to undergo FGM, asserts, “No child 
who is well informed and able to stand up for 
himself or herself wants the practice of genital 
cutting to continue.” As a mother’s level of 
education rises, the likelihood that her daughter 
undergoes FGM declines47. Inversely, when girls 
undergo FGM they are more likely to drop out of 
school56. Plan International specifically emphasizes 
the need for curriculum teaching girls to 
understand their rights and autonomy over their 
own body3. Through creative expression, 
confidence building, and artistic empowerment 
exercises, performance can facilitate this learning 
for girls and women.  

A core value of Tostan is dispelling the notion 
that people are unable to learn. Gillespie explained 
that some women who attend Tostan’s workshops 
have never spoken outside of the home before and 
assume that they are “stupid” and cannot learn. 
Gillespie reports that when theater is incorporated 
into their practice, “people get so engaged in the 
plays they forget that they’re speaking”39. This 
assertion also relates back to Boal’s recognition of 
theater as a language to serve oppressed 
communities. In this way, artistic expression is 

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uniquely positioned to engage previously untapped 
learning capabilities.  

Beyond theater, Hara organizes music, dance, 
and visual art workshops for young children44. 
They present a perfect example of the workshop 
design at the beginning of this chapter. The 
workshop lasts three days, for a total of nine hours, 
and culminates in a final hour of a performance. 
Through singing instruction, participants learn 
songwriting, composing, and singing to produce 
songs focused on advocacy. The instructor of this 
program, Ahmad El Sawy, says “I believe the 
desired awareness was met along with the 
participants’ acquiring a new skill…” Through 
dance, Hara indirectly addresses FGM without 
discussing it. Using dance to establish a 
relationship with their bodies, participants identify 
its dimensions and capabilities, gaining ownership 
and comfort with their physical self. One exercise 
asks participants to recall painful memories 
associated with their body parts, connecting girls 
understanding of FGM to their physical body, and 
empowering bodily autonomy. 

The YouTube video “Ending Female Genital 
Cutting in Guinea” features a workshop presented 
by Plan International and AFAF, an NGO 
educating girls about the dangers of excision49. In 
the workshop, the girls learn about excision, 
reproduction, and more using song and music. The 
workshop utilizes a participatory and community 
approach based on dialogue. At the end of the 
program the students march, dance, and sing to 
campaign against FGM. As a result of this 
program, the village came out against excision. In 
this example, education translated to a public 
demonstration which increased awareness of the 
negative risks and FGM in a way that 
communicated to the whole village. 
5.4 Speak out about the risks and realities of FGM 

Through non-judgmental and non-coercive 
public discussion, reflection, and storytelling, 
communities affected by FGM can come to 
understand the risks of FGM18. The Girl 
Generation, the world’s largest collective of 

organizations working together to end FGM in 
the current generation, recommends positive 
storytelling as an effective intervention, reporting 
that “sharing what is happening is essential to 
building awareness. Research shows that stories 
are more effective than facts, explanations, or 
arguments in influencing behavioral change50. 
Their effectiveness is attributed to their ability to 
transport the reader, engage empathy, garner 
attention, and leave a memory. As mentioned in 
Section 4, theater and film act as natural forms of 
storytelling, facilitating awareness as unique 
platforms for advocates against FGM.  

The international non-profit organization Right 
to Play utilizes radio dramas to empower youth to 
speak out against FGM51. Girls in the program 
write and perform the radio dramas to share stories 
that work towards gender equality. In the feature 
radio drama, the story focuses on a teacher who 
stands up for a girl, Matinde, bullied for not being 
circumcised. In the end, the other children accept 
her decision. The young Matinde is depicted as a 
champion for girls’ rights in her school. There is 
no impact measurement for this specific program, 
but Right to Play claims that through their 
programs, “more girls are finding their voice, 
claiming their right to education, and learning to 
defy dangerous traditions such as female 
circumcision and child marriage”52. They also train 
teachers how to build trusting relationships so 
“children gain the confidence to talk about threats 
to their safety... like female genital mutilation.” 

The Global Media Campaign, created by 
former journalists at The Guardian, works to end 
FGM through innovative media methods across 
seven countries/territories: Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, 
Sierra Leone, Somalia, the Gambia, and 
Puntland53. Their work is primarily focused on a 
grassroots approach that empowers activists 
through summits and workshops to provide them 
with training and education on the subject and in 
the use of film and radio resources53. In their 
Virtual Media Academy, created in May 2020 in 
response to COVID-19, they have created an 
extensive online library which includes films and 

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webinars. This program was successful in 
attracting 500 new activists and 175 grants for 
media campaigns. The Global Media Campaign 
(GMC) reports reaching 870 million people 
through the work of their activists working both 
locally and internationally53. Examples of grant 
programs in Mali include a national slam poetry 
contest, YouTube education campaigns, and radio 
shows and debates. Their method of using film 
and radio to create FGM activists is an especially 
effective way of exposing the negative effects. 

The Kapenguria Theater Group is an anti-
FGM advocacy program in Kenya that combats 
the practice of FGM and its risks through theater 
and song on social media6. They are using this 
moment during lockdown to spread their message 
widely online, as they expect many teenagers are 
online more now. The group first records their 
skits and songs on CDs, then they deliver them to 
girls in villages to view and discuss. They identify 
lack of exposure as the primary reason for the 
continued practice of FGM. Like other programs, 
their interventions are centered around educating 
communities on the harmful effects of FGM. Mr. 
Walufa, the leader of the group, accounts that 
“many people still don’t know that we are using 
digital methods in the anti-FGM drive”6. 
Furthermore, by involving community members in 
the arts programming, these programs create 
advocates against FGM, both youth and 
otherwise. 
5.5  Spread understanding that religion does not 
demand FGM 

 Misconceptions regarding religion are often 
targeted in different performing arts campaigns 
that address existing beliefs. It is such an involved 
and prevalent component of existing beliefs, that it 
merits its own category. Furthermore, by including 
religious members of the community in the 
attendance or participation of the arts program, 
they are effective in addressing religious concerns.  

Sadia Hussein, a graduate from the GMC, led a 
10-day program in Kenya, featuring religious

leaders condemning FGM on radio54. The 
program presented three key results: 

1. More than one of four listeners changed
their minds and no longer thought FGM
was necessary;

2. 87% of respondents said that FGM had
been discussed more than usual in the past
month;

3. 100% of respondents could name at least
two harmful effects of FGM after the
media campaign, when only 67% could
before the intervention.

In addition to impressive measured results, the 
media campaign also prides itself in having cost-
effective interventions, described in further detail 
in Section 7 on financing. The media campaign 
plans to continue its work with over five new 
programs in the next six months.  

Cuttin’ It, the play by Charlene James that 
advocates for FGM survivors, combats 
assumptions about religion by featuring two girls 
of the same religion, one who undergoes FGM and 
one that does not55. This inclusion of religion in 
both girls’ lives makes the statement that religion 
is not the cause of FGM. Performing arts 
interventions are not often centered on targeting 
religious misconceptions but have the ability to 
sensitively challenge established beliefs through its 
programming.  
5.6  Address the secrecy that allows cutting to 
continue 

 Performing arts programs do not directly 
expose the secrecy of FGM, referencing that it 
occurs behind closed doors and is seldom the 
subject of public dialogue, but their public nature 
encourages open and candid discussion about the 
topic. For some, a language barrier prevents them 
from learning about the consequences of FGM 
and from advocating for themselves and their 
communities. After participating in the Plan 
International and AFAF workshop, referenced 
above, one girl praises the publicity of the 
intervention, saying, “seeing my mothers and 
grandmothers campaigning against excision makes 

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me happy, because something that was once 
hidden has now come out”49. Public 
demonstrations are effective in drawing attention 
to an issue and engaging with non-literate 
cultures.  

Diane Gillespie from Tostan International 
says “‘Seeing is believing’ is a huge thing in a non-
literate culture. And female genital cutting is 
unseen.” Tostan is specifically praised for their 
pedagogy, which builds on cultural traditions of 
the communities’ oral tradition in West Africa. 
The oral tradition includes storytelling, strong 
memories, and a variety of languages. In the 
interview conducted with Gillespie, she explained 
why Tostan’s work necessitates the use of theater39. 
When working in illiterate communities, it is 
important to rely on oral forms of education and 
communication, which have the added effect of 
being interactive and engaging. As mentioned in 
the previous section, theater often made it easier 
for participants to engage with the topics. While it 
is difficult to directly address the issue of genital 
cutting happening behind closed doors, by 
encouraging public activism and empowering 
people to speak on the topic, the reluctancy 
towards conversing about FGM can be addressed.  
5.7  Keep pushing for FGM to be banned 

Lastly, the seventh method is to “keep pushing 
for FGM to be banned.” In its capacity for 
advocacy, described in methods 4 and 6, 
performance-based interventions push for policy 
change in FGM. In the interview conducted for 
this study with Chiamaka Uzomba, program 
director at Active Voices — an organization that 
tackles critical issues of health and development 
that has used theater as a form of youth activism 
against FGM — Uzomba spoke about her 

experience serving on a national technical working 
group on FGM in Nigeria. She relayed that within 
her position in Active Voices, she has the ability to 
affect the policy choices surrounding FGM42. 
Though Active Voices has only run one program 
utilizing theater, Chiamaka hopes to explore it 
further, once she has more funding, to advocate for 
a total ban on FGM.  

The ability of the arts to impact the 
abandonment of FGM beyond just the local level, 
as demonstrated in many aforementioned cases, is 
incredibly evident through the use of a film in Iraqi 
Kurdistan. In 2013, two filmmakers in Kurdistan 
spent almost a decade persuading citizens to talk 
about the effects of FGM, including impacts on 
marital sex and family dynamics57. The activism of 
the film helped the Iraqi Kurdistan Parliament 
outlaw FGM in 2011. In the three years after it 
was outlawed, there was about a 60% reduction in 
the number of girls being cut in the autonomous 
region57. Section 7 focuses more on the translation 
of performing arts work in FGM to policy 
affecting broader change.  
5.8  Results of Performance-based Interventions 

Table 4 depicts the varying outcomes of the 
programs for those that gave any form of 
measurement. As previously mentioned, many of 
the programs did not include measures of success. 
Out of six observed programs/organizations, only 
two organizations recorded statistics of FGM 
abandonment following their programs. However, 
all eight reported positive results in reaction to 
their projects, either a reduction in reported cases 
of FGM, community commitments to end FGM, 
or individual audience proclamations of 
abandonment.  

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Table 4. Results of FGM and Performance Programs, with their respective outcome measurements 

5.9  Results of Performance-based Interventions 
5.9.1.   Monitoring and Evaluation 

Monitoring and evaluation of performance-based 
interventions varied greatly among the observed 
programs. The methods included informal 
interviews/testimonials, focus groups, 
questionnaires, or nothing. All interviewees 
(representatives of Tostan International, AIDOS, 
and Active Voices) recognized monitoring and 
measurement as major challenges of implementing 

a performing arts program as a health 
intervention. Measurements are not consistent 
among art forms either. For radio shows, the 
measurement might take the form of estimated 
listeners, but surveys are difficult to conduct 
because the listenership is not directly recorded. 
If surveys were to be used, the radio show would 
have to be played for a controlled group, with the 
surveys conducted after listening. For a theater 
performance, there is a more controlled audience, 
allowing for post-show surveys and a post-

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program follow-up later on. The same is true for 
workshops in which the participants are contained.  

Tostan International primarily relies on surveys 
and testimonials in order to measure attitudes 
towards FGM. The choice of these measurements 
is based on the idea that if a community comes to 
believe that a practice is harmful, then their 
attitudes will change, resulting in behavioral 
change. Unfortunately, the results of surveys are not 
publicly accessible. Gillespie reported example 
questions that might be on the surveys to measure 
prevalence: asking, for example, whether 
respondents think that most of the people in their 
community support cutting girls, and if they believe 
people approve of people who cut their daughters. 
The development of those questions relies on the 
idea that an individual is more likely to perform an 
action if they believe it is socially acceptable.  

AIDOS, an Italian organization that combats 
FGM, by empowering women to create videos 
fighting against FGM, monitors their success by 
the number of organizations that use their videos 
and the views on their videos. The videos are posted 
on YouTube and periodically monitored for views. 
Their most popular video has 1,600 views. Without 
more context from other programs, however, this 
number is difficult to assess comparatively. 
Additionally, as behavioral change is a long process, 
it can be challenging to conduct effective data 
collection over time44. The lack of data reported out 
from the existing programs presents a challenge for 
program analysis. These challenges can be 
mitigated by partnering with local organizations to 
conduct long-term surveying of the community 
after the intervention has ended.  
5.9.2.   Funding 

Another highly cited issue was funding — for 
example, one interviewee from Hara TV reported 
that the program closed in 2020 due to a lack of 
funding58. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and 
subsequent government spending to combat its 
adverse impacts, there is less funding going towards 
anti-FGM programs. Uzomba from Active Voices 
and Fanelli from AIDOS both reported that their 

organizations are dependent on grants in order to 
conduct more programs59. The topic of funding, 
including the implications of this grant-based 
funding structure, will be explored further in 
Chapter 7.  
5.9.3.   Research 
    Throughout the research process, only one 
peer-reviewed study was found that measured the 
prevalence of FGM in a society after using 
performance as an intervention. Given the 
scarcity of research on the topic, the topic was 
investigated through other sources, such as 
interviews, articles, and video reviews. When 
there is very little to no previous reported 
knowledge on the effectiveness of an intervention, 
it is difficult to gain legitimacy for a program 
proposal. The lack of reporting and research in 
general also limits the potential for performance 
interventions to become more prominent in 
contributing to the abandonment of FGM. 
5.10  Case Study: Addressing the Menace of Rape 
and Female Genital Mutilation through Theater for 
Development, Nigeria 

In 2018, Adefolaju Eben Adeseke conducted 
one of the first case studies to research the effects 
of TfD as an intervention in FGM. This study 
stands out compared to the short-term methods 
of evaluation used by program interventions 
because of its long-term and wide-ranging 
evaluation. Adeseke’s study, “Addressing the 
Menace of Rape and Female Genital Mutilation 
through Theater for Development” deployed 
TfD in two Nigerian communities in order to 
educate people on the issues of FGM and 
violence against women. In Ijurin, Nigeria, those 
conducting the study first identified and 
acquainted themselves with the issue, then 
developed a solution through the creation of a 
drama skit23. The cast of the play incorporated 
traditional songs, community actors and singers, 
and the elderly.  

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The research culminated in a performance for the 
community that highlighted the story of two girls, 
one who goes through FGM and one who does not 
and stays in university. The play directly contrasts 
the two as a warning and motivation to the 
audience, while simultaneously educating the 
viewers on the negative effects of FGM. After the 
show, the audience, consisting of chiefs, men, 
women, and children, participated in a post-
performance discussion that sparked reflection on 
the practice of FGM. At the end, Adeseke writes 
that, “Four of the female circumcisers said that now 
that they have seen the outcome of FGM in the 
performance, they would definitely stop the 
practice.” This verbal report is the first measure of 
success. When the study conducted a “follow-up” a 
month after the performance, the researchers found 
that there was no record of circumcision in Ijurin 
since the facilitators had left. Another check-in 
three months later displayed the same results. 
Although the study does not include a numerical 
record of FGM practiced before the theater 
program was implemented, Adeseke writes that 
Ijurin was selected as a site because of “the serious 
negative impact FGM can have on the female 
children…” and reports that the study’s findings 
“revealed that many children had died in the past in 
the village due to hemorrhage.” From these explicit 
mentions of FGM in Ijurin, it is clear that FGM 
was prevalent beforehand and posed a high risk for 
young girls. Therefore, the post-intervention shift 
to zero incidence of female circumcision is 
remarkable.  

In this study, Adeseke proposes the ability of 
performing arts to intervene in FGM, exemplifying 
many of Plan International’s methods of ending 
FGM. The study challenges the discriminatory 
reasons of FGM, changes traditions, and speaks out 
about the risks and realities of FGM through the 
performance of the play, which combats 
misinformation and preconceived notions of FGM. 
Additionally, by drawing community members to 
the production, including chiefs, the intervention 
brings the topic of FGM to the forefront of 
community interest. The abandonment of FGM in 

the community also mirrors the push to ban 
FGM worldwide. While the study does not 
provide sufficient pre-intervention data, it serves 
as a strong example of how to conduct monitoring 
and evaluation after a program, thereby helping 
solve one of the most significant challenges in the 
field. 
6. Treatment of FGM Patients using
Performance Therapy

 “If health is about adaptation, understanding, 
and acceptance, then the arts may be more potent than 
anything medicine has to offer”60 

Thus far, the ability of performance to act as 
preventative intervention targeting FGM in a 
health promotion context has been highlighted. 
Another area of unexplored potential for 
performance and health is the capability of 
performance to serve as therapy. The research 
study, “Use of Drama Therapy in Unlocking the 
Voices of Female Genital Mutilation Among the 
Kenyan Maasai” by Zippora Agatha Okoth, is 
one of the only existing studies on this specific 
intersection of drama therapy and FGM. 
Nonetheless, the Health Evidence Network 
Synthesis Report on the role of the arts in health 
reports the effectiveness of art therapy in the case 
of other health issues, the effects of which are 
transferrable to the area of FGM. After reviewing 
both of these documents, it is evident that 
performance therapy is effective due to its ability 
to create a safe environment for survivors to 
process their trauma and to ease mental health 
symptoms.  
6.1  Safe Spaces, Storytelling, and Trauma 

In her PhD thesis, Okoth argues that drama 
therapy, through techniques such as story-telling, 
role playing, song, and dance, can be used as an 
effective tool to empower the voices of FGM 
survivors35. After data collection, she reports that 
theater is particularly effective because “it creates 
a safe and playful environment where the 
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and mental conflicts due to FGM”35. In this way, 
theater acts as a buffer for survivors to tell their 
stories. This strategy works to both help survivors 
process their emotions and to dispel the stigma of 
the trauma that arises from being subjected to 
FGM. The results of the study conclude that after 
the program, the survivors regained self-confidence, 
self-esteem, and trust. 

In general, expressive art therapy is reported to be 
effective in helping children and adults experiencing 
the effects of traumatic experiences, including abuse 
(physical, emotional, sexual), addiction to drugs, 
and accidents63. FGM falls under the categories of 
physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. Okoth’s 
study took place at a girls’ primary school shelter in 
Kenya for survivors and escapees of FGM. Girls 
aged 9–15 participated in drama therapy exercises, 
including physical warm-ups, imagination exercises 
— in which participants imagine themselves in 
different settings or doing different activities — 
games, and storytelling35. Overall, the study found 
several techniques to be helpful in bringing about 
therapeutic healing to FGM survivors. Through 
dramatic reenactments, including improvisation 
and role playing, the participants were able to look 
at the situation from new perspectives and feel 
united in their emotions as a group. After testing 
dance as a method of breaking down boundaries 
created after FGM, researchers discovered that 
dance and music as drama therapy techniques 
proved to be valuable as they helped the participants 
feel comfortable with their bodies, have physical 
contact with one another, and dance in front of each 
other35. The removal of these inhibitions allowed 
the participants to feel more open with their 
personal experiences. Furthermore, storytelling and 
games encouraged self-exploration and 
empowerment.  

In order to measure the results of the study, the 
researchers used the Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale 
to measure change in attitudes towards self, 
relationships, and the future. The scale uses a four-
point scale from “strongly agree” to “strongly 
disagree” to assign a value to statements reflecting  

study found that surveyed girls’ attitudes towards 
their lives, relationships, and their future all 
improved after the project35.  
6.2  Mental Health Impacts 

The Health Evidence Network Synthesis Report 
67 on the role of the arts in health includes 
successful examples of the ability of drama 
therapy programs to address psychological 
impact. The report cites art therapy (art form 
unspecified) as improving self-confidence, self-
esteem, and self-concept with children who had 
experienced sexual abuse, developmental delay, or 
emotional disturbance4. For example, dance 
therapy encourages healthy living by 
incorporating confidence-building and physical 
exercise — weekly dance therapy over several 
months improved body consciousness, body 
image, and confidence in obese youth. When 
considering mild to severe mental illness, music 
and dance therapies were able to reduce anxiety, 
depression, and other symptoms in children and 
adolescents. An example of the physical impact of 
drama therapy is observed in stroke patients. 
Listening to music and dancing was found to help 
the development of new neural pathways, 
improve upper and lower-limb motor function, 
muscle weakness, balance, grip strength, cadence, 
and more. Furthermore, music therapy reduced 
blood pressure in diabetes patients4.  

There are many other instances of the 
remarkable effects of drama therapy on physical 
and emotional wellbeing. Unfortunately, the 
understanding of performance therapy’s impact 
on FGM survivors is limited. More research 
should be conducted on the potential physical 
impact drama and other art therapies can have on 
this population. Despite the lack of research, 
though, the wide-ranging impact that 
performance therapy has been proven to have on 
similar traumatic experiences holds encouraging 
implications for interventions regarding FGM. 

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7. Further Considerations and Recommendations
7.1  Government Involvement 

Despite the preceding emphasis on grassroots 
interventions that create community and local 
programs with the ideals of performance for 
development, it is also essential that subsequent 
interventions involve all levels of government in 
order to generate sustainable and institutional 
change. While grassroots movements foster 
awareness of and direct engagement with the 
threats posed by FGM, these interventions should 
be followed by codification of their values into law. 
In this way, the relationship between the 
government and the broad movement against FGM 
have a significant, cyclical relationship. As the 
movement gains traction, it puts increasing pressure 
on the government to enact meaningful change — 
when the government incorporates these reforms, it 
further empowers and validates the movement. An 
example of this relationship includes the 
HIV/AIDS movement in the United States, in 
which case activists succeeded in influencing the 
government to address the epidemic. The 
combination of grassroots interventions and 
institutional change can be very effective in 
targeting FGM.  

In general, politicians tend to be hesitant to 
establish policies relating to the intersection of arts 
and health overall, not because they do not care 
about the health issues, but because of the lack of 
legitimacy and recognition. Lara Dose, the director 
of the National Network for Arts in Health, 
observed in 2005 that, “Politicians appear to be 
sufficiently brave to set targets high enough to raise 
eyebrows and expectations, but too scared to try 
anything innovative to ensure these are achieved”36. 
Her criticism comes after the Department of 
Health in England launched a review of arts and 
health, and politicians were unresponsive. In 2006, 
the network ran out of funding and it was 
suspended. The next paragraphs will examine the 
ways in which the government has supported FGM 

and performing arts efforts and give 
recommendations going forward. 
7.1.1.   Emergency Preparedness 

In order to address the increasing rates of FGM 
described in the introduction, it is essential that 
preparedness and response plans incorporate 
FGM in their considerations regarding gender-
based violence. With the current spate of 
instances of FGM owing to the COVID-19 
pandemic, future emergency responses should 
anticipate the extra burden and plan ahead to 
prevent it. They can do so through health 
promotion activities and community awareness 
initiatives that incorporate the techniques 
enumerated in Section 5. 
7.1.2.   Law 

Out of the countries with the highest reported 
rates of FGM, seen in Table 2, 11 of 16 have 
made FGM illegal in national policy. According 
to End FGM Network’s March 2020 report, 
“Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: A Call for 
a Global Action,” of the population of 92 
countries where FGM is practiced, about 55% 
(approximately 51 countries) specifically outlaw 
FGM through national law, either through a 
specific anti-FGM law or through domestic 
laws17. 

In this report, the legal status of FGM in 
countries is split into three categories: countries 
that have enacted a special national anti-female 
genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) law; 
countries in which FGM/C is specifically 
mentioned/covered within other laws; and 
countries that do not specifically address FGM/C 
within their laws. The layers of policy are complex 
and cross over the realms of constitutional, 
national, and local law. Table 5 reports the law 
coverage from the countries listed in Table 2. 
Note that all countries included have national 
representative surveys.  

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     Table 5. FGM laws in the countries reporting the highest incidences of FGM 

Other countries where FGM is still legal include 
Norway, Greece, Poland, Hungary, and 15 states in 
the United States. As mentioned previously, 
because the numbers in these countries are not 
regularly reported, it is difficult to assess how many 
women and girls are affected17. This murky 
legislative environment reinforces the need for 
governments around the world to establish laws 
specifically banning the practice of FGM. Nada 
Sabet, co-founder of Noon Enterprise — which 

runs the Hara TV Project — explains the 
importance of policy through her quote: 

“My biggest challenge in the struggle against 
female genital cutting is the passing of legislation 
that will outlaw it. Then, and only then, will we 
be able to put an end to FGM. But it will take a 
lot of lobbying and advocating, at all levels: in 
government, in parliament, and in villages and 
communities”1.  

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Governments must explicitly ban FGM in order 
to strengthen and legitimize the implementation of 
FGM interventions overall, which naturally 
includes performance-based interventions.  

Beyond the establishment of laws, it is essential 
to consider the effectiveness and enforcement of 
those laws. Despite every country in Tables 2 and 5 
having a strategy in place to end FGM, the 
prevalence of FGM is still high in the countries 
listed. The unambiguous gap between the 
enactment of laws and the practical enforcement of 
those laws demonstrates the necessity of 
interventions that target the root causes of FGM’s 
persistence. Uprooting a harmful societal tradition 
requires sensitivity and care, which is effectively 
accomplished through performance.  

In the interviews with AIDOS and Active 
Voices, both organizations stated that work was 
being done in their respective countries, Italy and 
Nigeria, to allocate funds to FGM abandonment, 
but not specifically to performance interventions. 
Italy passed a law in 2007 that enacted guidelines to 
health and social work professionals working with 
migrants from countries where FGM is practiced63. 
In the same year, the Italian government drafted 
strategic plans aimed at programming initiatives 
and measures. These campaigns comprised of a 
documentary, theatrical play, radio shows, TV ads, 
and more, conducted by seven different Italian anti-
FGM organizations, including AIDOS59. The 
involvement of the Italian government in anti-

FGM policy and budgetary allocation illustrates 
the multifaceted role that the legal environment 
can play in the implementation of anti-FGM 
performance programs. 
7.1.3.   Funding 

As mentioned previously, one of the most 
significant challenges in performance-based 
program implementation is receiving proper 
funding for anti-FGM programs in general. In 
2019, Ethiopia spent approximately 78.21 million 
USD on healthcare costs associated with FGM64. 
This cost is projected to grow to 123.4 million 
USD in 2048 if Ethiopia does not pursue 
abandonment more vigorously. If they were to 
pursue full abandonment, they would lower this 
projection to 48.03 million USD in 2048. Partial 
abandonment would lower the costs to about 
91.37 million. Considering the heavy financial 
burden FGM causes for governments, it is within 
their best financial interest to pursue cost-
effective interventions.  

There is very little data reporting the cost 
effectiveness of performing arts programs due to 
an overall lack of research in the area. Even so, the 
projected costs presented by the GMC’s radio and 
television campaigns are provided in Table 6 to 
demonstrate the cost efficiency of similar 
programs. 

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Table 6. The cost per person for radio and TV anti-FGM interventions in Mali 

     Since radio shows, TV ads, and televised debates 
account for four of five of the interventions in Table 
6, and are primarily indirect interventions, it follows 
that their successful implementation could 
contribute to a partial abandonment of FGM. It is 
projected that if Ethiopia does not put more 
funding and effort into abandoning FGM, then the 
country would have about 39.24 million cases by 
204864. If the Ethiopian government pursues partial 
abandonment, however, they can lower this 
projection by 9.86 million cases to have 29.38 
million cases in 2048. Applying the average cost per 
one hundred thousand people of a GMC campaign 
($109.66) to the projected number of reduced cases 
if partial abandonment is adopted (9.86 million), it 
would cost about $10,812 to accomplish this result. 
In theory, Ethiopia would only need to spend 
$10,812 USD to save 32.03 million USD in health 
care costs attributed to FGM. Though these 
calculations are fairly simplistic, even if the 
interventions were only half as effective as projected 
then it still would only cost $10,812 USD to save 
about 16 million dollars in healthcare costs. The 
Ethiopian government has a limited scope to put 
FGM policies into practice due to constraints in 
budget allocation and human resources dedicated to 
targeting FGM, but with cost-effective strategies 
such as those of the GMC, the government can 

work with NGOs to lower their prevalence of 
FGM65.  
      Valentina Fanelli, a program officer working 
on FGM, gender stereotypes, and gender- based 
violence at AIDOS, projects that in the future, in 
light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the already 
severely limited funding will be diverted to 
support economies and emergency efforts59. Even 
so, she also projects that as a result of social 
distancing measures, more funding will go into 
media (TV, film, radio) work targeting FGM. 
Fanelli further explained that AIDOS’ programs 
are grant-dependent, as is the case for many other 
anti-FGM organizations. Since grant-based 
funding is relatively inconsistent, this situation 
puts a great deal of these organizations in 
vulnerable positions.  
      These organizations would benefit greatly 
from an increased government budget allocation, 
which would provide a more consistent stream of 
funds. Governments are also financially 
incentivized to invest in performance 
interventions in the immediate term, to save on 
health care costs related to FGM later. In order 
to support existing performance interventions and 
contribute to their expansion in the future, 
governments should allocate more funds to the 
intersection of arts and health.  

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7.2 Recognition through Research 
One of the primary barriers to effective and 

innovative work at the nexus of performing arts and 
the treatment and prevention of FGM is the lack of 
research. There was only one accessible study on the 
effects of performing arts on the prevention of 
FGM and only one on the effects of drama therapy. 
Furthermore, the former paper included little to no 
data to substantiate the positive change that it 
reported. In order for the performing arts to become 
relevant as an intervention in FGM, there must be 
more field studies conducted with rigorous and 
standardized methods of measurement and data 
reporting. Only then will there be an increase in its 
legitimacy in academia, policy, and beyond. 
In general, there is a lack of research and therefore 
authority surrounding the role of arts in health. To 
combat this phenomenon, the same 
recommendation as above applies with a suggestion 
that the research agenda be elevated to the 
multilateral realm. Performance must be considered 
as a tangible and legitimate health intervention by 
the WHO, UN, and national health institutions. 
Improved recognition will translate to increased 
funding for performance-based programs, hopefully 
leading to an increase in organizations 
incorporating the arts in their work. 
      As of December 2020, only about eight 
organizations report any link to conducting 
performing arts intervention to target FGM. In 
general, these organizations lack standardized 
measurement and evaluation mechanisms for their 
programs. Thus, individual organizations should 
prioritize research in conjunction with their 
programs in order to increase the overall breadth of 
research in this area. Furthermore, it is 
recommended that the WHO establish a formal 
working group to study and evaluate existing arts 
and health programs, including those that focus on 
addressing FGM. While Health Evidence Network 
Synthesis Report 67 was a great start, it was published 
only by the regional Europe office. This work must 
be brought to all regions of the world. 

7.3 Program Pedagogy 
    More NGOs, governments, and local health 
organizations should learn from the success and 
creativity of the pedagogy of TfD and incorporate 
more elements thereof in their interventions. 
These organizations can collaborate with 
practiced applied theater experts to structure their 
programs and train volunteers. Furthermore, 
techniques utilized in performing arts therapy and 
performance for development should be taught to 
NGOs through large-scale initiatives and 
workshops. While the health and performing arts 
fields are — with only a few notable exceptions — 
isolated from one another, they must initiate 
cooperative dialogue in order to tackle culturally 
embedded issues such as FGM. 
8. Conclusion

An in-depth literature review and assessment
of performing arts interventions demonstrates the 
ability of performance-based interventions to 
potentially improve conditions for those at risk of 
FGM as well as survivors. Drawing upon the 
socio-ecological model, performance can 
positively impact outcomes by creating awareness, 
challenging existing norms and underlying 
assumptions, and empowering girls and 
community members to speak out against FGM. 
Performing arts interventions stand out in their 
natural community engagement, wide potential 
reach, emotional approach, and cost 
effectiveness.  
     In order to pursue performance interventions, 
there must be a commitment from NGOs to 
further utilize performance, more robust research 
and analysis, and increased funding for 
organizations that facilitate programs in this field. 
In order to commit to eradicating FGM, both 
local and national governments must set it as a 
priority. The criminalization of FGM and 
enactment of anti-FGM laws legitimize the 
cause, leading to the opportunity for increased 
research. With more research, the field can grow 
in strength, and therefore practice. All of the 

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interventions require funding, of course, which is 
easier to allocate and distribute when there is 
significant proof of the effectiveness of performing 
arts interventions. From this paper, the hope is that 
others will be inspired to research not only the 
intersection of FGM and performing arts but also 
the ability of performing arts to effect real change.  
     The ideal performing arts intervention works 
within social, local, and institutional networks to 
create an environment that does not allow for the 
practice of FGM. In order to further the field, it 
incorporates effective and thorough monitoring and 
evaluation before, during, and after the central 
program. The program itself does not attack culture 
and tradition, but rather, through its art, invites the 
audience into a dialogue about FGM. With the 
precious ability to incite empathy, empower, and 
educate, performance is a humane solution to this 
significant global health challenge. 
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