Female Circumcision and Sexual Satisfaction among Iranian Kurdish Women

Background: There is contradictory evidence about the relationship between female circumcision and sexual function and satisfaction, which may be rooted in cultural and social beliefs and the different types of genital mutilation/circumcision (GM/C). Objective: The present study aimed to compare the sexual satisfaction among Iranian Kurdish women with and without GM/C. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 310 women with and without GM/C aged 18-45 years, referred to the health centers of Mahabad, Iran, in 2020, using the convenience sampling method. After completing the informed consent form by the participants, the demographic and obstetric characteristics and Larson sexual satisfaction questionnaires were completed. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS21 software, and Chi-square and ANCOVA tests were used. Results: The mean (SD) score of sexual satisfaction was 87.10 (6.15) and 86.99 (4.44) among women with and without GM/C, respectively. After controlling the effect of confounding variables, no significant difference was observed between the two groups. The majority of women in both groups (91.6% in women with type I genital mutilation and 92.9% in women without GM/C) had moderate sexual satisfaction and there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of sexual satisfaction levels. Conclusion: The results indicated no correlation between sexual satisfaction and type I female genital mutilation, which may be due to the limited area of genital injury, and the individual and social acceptance of this practice. A similar study design in other populations with different types of female genital mutilation is recommended.