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Female Genital Cutting and the Slave Trade

Author

Listed:
  • Lucia Corno

    (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
    Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore)

  • Eliana La Ferrara
  • Alessandra Voena

Abstract

This paper investigates the historical origins of female genital cutting (FGC). We test the historical hypothesis that FGC is associated with the Red Sea route of the African slave trade, where women were typically sold as concubines in the Middle East and infibulation was used as a means to preserve virginity. Using individual-level data from 28 African countries combined with historical records of Red Sea slave shipments from 1400 to 1900, we find that women from ethnic groups whose ancestors experienced greater exposure to the Red Sea slave trade are more likely to undergo infibulation or circumcision today. They are also more inclined to support the continuation of this practice. Our findings are robust to instrumenting Red Sea slave exports with the distance to the nearest port used for this route. We also leverage a dataset on oral traditions (Folklore) to show that greater exposure to the Red Sea slave trade correlates with a stronger association between infibulation and the cultural values of chastity and purity, which may have facilitated the diffusion of infibulation among local populations.

Suggested Citation

  • Lucia Corno & Eliana La Ferrara & Alessandra Voena, 2025. "Female Genital Cutting and the Slave Trade," DISCE - Working Papers del Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza def138, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).
  • Handle: RePEc:ctc:serie1:def138
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    File URL: http://dipartimenti.unicatt.it/economia-finanza-def138.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Edoardo Teso, 2019. "The Long-Term Effect of Demographic Shocks on the Evolution of Gender Roles: Evidence from the transatlantic Slave Trade," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 17(2), pages 497-534.
    2. Karen Macours & Julieta Vera Rueda & Duncan Webb, 2024. "Menstrual Stigma, Hygiene, and Human Capital: Experimental Evidence from Madagascar," PSE Working Papers halshs-04590500, HAL.
    3. Corno, Lucia & Voena, Alessandra, 2023. "Child marriage as informal insurance: Empirical evidence and policy simulations," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    4. Nina Buchmann & Erica Field & Rachel Glennerster & Shahana Nazneen & Xiao Yu Wang, 2023. "A Signal to End Child Marriage: Theory and Experimental Evidence from Bangladesh," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 113(10), pages 2645-2688, October.
    5. Warren Whatley & Rob Gillezeau, 2011. "The Impact of the Transatlantic Slave Trade on Ethnic Stratification in Africa," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(3), pages 571-576, May.
    6. Novak, Lindsey, 2020. "Persistent norms and tipping points: The case of female genital cutting," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 433-474.
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    JEL classification:

    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General
    • I11 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Analysis of Health Care Markets

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