ACADEMIA Letters Economics of Culture: Financial Rewards and the Enduring Practices of Female Genital Mutilation in Nigeria Omowumi Idowu, Department of Economics, Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti Nigeria (A) Introduction/Background Information Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a longstanding harmful traditional practice in many African countries borne out of enduring cultural beliefs that have existed for generations (UNICEF, 2001). Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) otherwise known as female genital cut- ting or female circumcision is explained to include all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the female external genital or other injury to the female genital organs for non- medical reason (World Health Organization, 2012). For example, in Egpyt and Ethiopia about 27.2 million and 23.8 million of women and girls have undergone FGM respectively, while Nigeria ranks third with 19.9 millions, which is equivalent to 27 percent of its female popula- tion and about one quarter of the estimated 115 – 130 million circumcised women and girls in the world (UNICEF, 2001: 2013). In Nigeria, FGM is most prevalent among the Yoruba eth- nic group in the Southwestern Nigeria ranging from 77 percent in Osun State to 72.3 percent of total female population in Ekiti State (The Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, 2013; NPC Nigeria and ICF International, 2014). The prevalent of FGM has been linked to cultural belief that circumcision is good for the girl child across diferent African societies (Horowitz and Jackson, 1997). There have been several debates against Female Genital Mutilation both internationally and locally, including the ratifcations of CEDAW resolution in 1993, the national baseline Academia Letters, February 2022 Corresponding Author: Omowumi Idowu, omowumi.idowu@eksu.edu.ng Citation: Idowu, O. (2022). Economics of Culture: Financial Rewards and the Enduring Practices of Female Genital Mutilation in Nigeria. Academia Letters, Article 4872. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL4872. 1 ©2022 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0