This synthesis paper provides an introduction to female genital cutting (FGC), a traditional practice that involves the physical alteration of the female genitalia. It presents three highly successful approaches to ending FGC implemented in Egypt, The Gambia, and Senegal and provides lessons learned and recommendations for future FGC programming. The paper is one of several analytical documents synthesizing the findings across "Promoting Women in Development" (PROWID) projects and their implications within the various themes.

Growth through engendering enterprise (ECOGEE) project | West Africa regional program (WARP) | Related documents: PN-ADE-161 through PN-ADE-164, PN-ADE-166

As part of the new strategy preparation, USAID/Senegal requested assistance with a gender assessment of its programs. The assessment team made site visits to multiple cities and towns in Senegal, which offered examples of key gender concerns, including gender disparities in access to education, unequal allocation of land and other resources, and gender-based violence, as well as examples of USAID/Senegal programming to address these problems. In addition to its analysis of gender issues and USAID activities in Senegal, the team provided the Mission with recommendations to help it continue to design and implement programs to overcome critical gender disparities in the country.