How to use the basic questionnaire

This questionnaire has been tested several times and it works – if adjusted to your context. We also made one version for men in which a few questions are different but it basically works the same as the questionnaire for women. So, even if you only want to interview men, keep on reading.

Before you start checking the basic questionnaire and the extensions, keep some general truths about questionnaires in mind:

People can just answer questions they understand and people will just answer questions truthfully, they don’t find offensive. A weak terminology will produce measurement inaccuracies. You need to think about:

• What phrasing is acceptable in your environment? How would you ask a friend about FGM?

• Taboos and indirect questions: Take into account that people might not want to talk about some things. Or they may not answer sensitive questions honestly. So try it with indirect questions in some cases, e.g. don’t ask what they do, but what their neighbor does. You will find a few examples in our extension I.

• Sometimes you have to break taboos to get your answers. It is up to you what you think you can “dare”.

• To maintain international transferability it is recommended to also have an adjusted English version from the start.

When you adapt the questionnaire, do not call it FGM or “mutilation”. Use the most common local term – something like “cutting”, “female circumcision”. We have used the word Khatana in all questionnaires. This is the most commonly used term in Muslim communities practicing FGM. If a different term is used in your community please exchange this in the questionnaire.

Basic Questionnaire Design

In the basic questionnaire we have limited the number of questions to 17. You will be able to conduct each interview in about 10-15 minutes (depending of course on how long you introduce yourself, have tea etc.). These 17 questions are basic but still sufficient to collect all relevant information you need for a basic survey on prevalence of FGM and motivations.

Please open the questionnaire now here or click the box on the right – there you will also find a Word version for easy adjustment.

If you want the questionnaire in a different language (Arabic, Persian or Malay) choose this language on the top menu and find the questionnaire in your prefered language under “material”.

In the following we will explain each item on the sheet.

• Number: Each questionnaire gets a number (1-100) – you need to put these BEFORE you start conducting the interviews. In case some sheets are missing in the end you will be able to find out what happened to them more easily. Example: Sheets 1-5 are missing and you remember you had a different bag with you when you conducted the first interviews. Check in that bag.

• Location: Fill in where you conduct the interview, whether this is village X, shopping mall Y or “in front of library”.

• Note how we named the questions: Each question has a short form, like “Born” or “FGM Contin”, which will serve us as a short marker when we transfer the results to charts and do the evaluation.

Questions 1-8

The question section starts with 8 (plus 2) questions about the woman’s personal background.

Question 1: Age
As options for answers we proposed simply decades. But sometimes different age ranges make more sense if there are specific generational gaps in your society. Revolutions, independency or coup d’etats often mark such gaps: Who was still young when it happened and who was already middle aged? Those who were young could be more inclined to question traditions – maybe, maybe not – you will find out. The start of general girls’ education could mark another important gap: How old are women today who were the first to have access to general education? Group this generation in one age range and those who are older in another.

If you interview students or any other more homogenous group, you can drop this question or exchange it, for example ask them if they are undergrad or grad students. In this case you also don’t have to ask about their education (question 5).

Question 2: Religion
In Asia and in some African countries FGM is closely connected to religion: Many people believe their religion is in favor of it. Even if this is not the case there is often a clear correlation between some confessions and FGM and not with others. So, asking the confession will most probably deliver important results in the end.

However, if you don’t feel comfortable asking about religion – or if it may even be dangerous – DON’T! Maybe you can guess the confession from the location where you interview people.

Question 3: Ethnic Group
Here the same is true as for religion. Depending on your local context, you may not need both questions: If all Kurds are Sunni and all Armenians Christian, you only need to ask the ethnicity. You may also mix this, e.g. What are you? Answer possibilities: Kurd, Turkmen, Christian, Bahai.

Question 3a &b: migration background
The practice of FGM can also be connected to certain regions, it can be more prevalent in villages than in cities or vice versa. When people migrate from a rural region to the big city, they will usually continue FGM for at least one generation. Asking where their parents come from can give you clues where in your country the practice is most common. Maybe it is not a “tradition” at all in your city, but those who practice it there have all come from a certain region.

You don’t need these questions if you are interviewing people in a village, because migration to villages is usually neglectable.

Question 4: Personal Status
Delete “married polygamous” if this is illegal in your country.

Question 5, 6, 7 & 8: Education of interviewee, father and mother and job of father
FGM is often but not always connected to educational level and social background. In many countries FGM is more prevalent among the less educated. However, in Asia there are also examples to the opposite. We ask not only for educational level of the woman you interview but also of her parents and the father’s job because family background may be decisive for the continuation of the practice. The woman you interview may have a university degree but if she comes from a poor village background this may determine her view on FGM more than her newly acquired status. Since FGM is often perpetuated by women without men’s interference it is also of interest if only her father or also her mother is educated. There is no question about the job of the mother, because in many settings this has no influence, especially if the answer is “housewife” in 90% of the cases you can save your time by not asking about it. But you should add it if this will lead to any results in your context. Especially if there are many single mothers in your society it would be important.

Question 9 “Do you have a daughter”
This question is just to double check if later questions about daughters have been understood correctly. You may also find out if having a daughter has an affect on the opinion about FGM.

Questions 10 & 11: FGM of interviewee and/or daughter
If one of these two are answered with yes, you need to continue with questions 12-17. If not, you are finished with this interview.

Questions 12 & 13: Age of FGM
As options for answers we came up with typical age ranges: In some places FGM is performed on babies, in others on pre-schoolers, in some it’s a rite of passage and done before puberty and yet in others contexts it is done before marriage. Adjust this to your local context.

Questions 14: Why is FGM performed?

We offer as answers the most common reasons in general terms. You should add all other reasons which you have heard in your society. If there are specific myths (e.g. in Sudan they believe the clitoris will grow to be as long as a penis) you can also add them.

Question 15 & 16: Who performs FGM?
To take measures against the continuation of FGM it is extremely important to know who performs it. Among the answers you should adapt the term for “midwife”: Usually this is a traditional birth helper who has a specific local name, but maybe it is also the woman who does the body waxing or the hairdresser.

Next

• Once you have adjusted the basic questionnaire to your setting, you can read about extension I and II. Maybe you find questions which you want to add.
• If you want to interview men in addition or instead of women, please read our section: questioning men.
• If you are completely happy with the basics, read how to conduct the interviews in the section: going to the field.