Trading Rights for Rings: How Second-Order Beliefs about Marriageability Sustain Female Genital Cutting (FGC)

Last registered on August 05, 2026

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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

Trading Rights for Rings: How Second-Order Beliefs about Marriageability Sustain Female Genital Cutting (FGC)

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0018269

Initial registration date

June 08, 2026

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published

June 15, 2026, 4:16 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Last updated

August 05, 2026, 4:28 AM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Country

Egypt

Region

Primary Investigator

Name

Mervat Emary

Affiliation

Hamburg University

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

PI Affiliation

PI Name

PI Affiliation

PI Name

PI Affiliation

Additional Trial Information

Status

In development

Start date

2026-08-30

End date

2026-09-30

Keywords

Behavior, Gender, Lab

Additional Keywords

Second-order beliefs, experiment, FGC

JEL code(s)

D91, C93, O12

Secondary IDs

Prior work

This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.

Abstract

Female Genital Cutting (FGC) remains widespread in Egypt despite legal prohibition, international condemnation, and repeated religious statements rejecting the practice. Its persistence suggests that external regulations are insufficient when internalized social norms continue to govern behavior. In particular, many parents believe that FGC is necessary to protect their daughters’ future marriage prospects, acting not out of personal support for the practice but out of concern for what future husbands and their families are perceived to demand. Economic insecurity and low female labor force participation may further entrench these beliefs by increasing the centrality of marriage as a source of women’s social and economic security. This study examines how different normative framings and belief corrections affect support for FGC. We address two research questions: (1) which normative framing—medical, legal, or religious—is most effective in reducing support for FGC among men, and (2) Would correcting second-order beliefs about men’s marriage preferences influences parents’ attitudes and intended behaviors regarding the practice. By experimentally disentangling personal attitudes from beliefs about others’ expectations, the study provides causal evidence on how misperceptions about marriageability sustain harmful practices and identifies which normative interventions are most effective in weakening support for FGC.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Emary, Mervat et al. 2026. "Trading Rights for Rings: How Second-Order Beliefs about Marriageability Sustain Female Genital Cutting (FGC)." AEA RCT Registry. August 05. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.18269-2.0

Sponsors & Partners

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

Intervention (Hidden)

Intervention Start Date

2026-08-30

Intervention End Date

2026-09-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

1. Single men’s opposition/support towards FGC
2. The intervention that had the strongest effect of opposition towards the practice (religious vs legal vs medical)
3. Married individuals’ future decision to (not) circumcise their future daughters
4. Married individuals’ decision to attend an information session for FGC

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

This study is a two-phase field experiment in Egypt. In Phase 1, young unmarried men aged 18–35 are individually randomized to one of four groups: a control group receiving neutral information, or one of three treatment groups receiving a brief anti-FGC message framed in medical, legal, or religious terms. In Phase 2, married men and women with no children or only very young children are individually randomized either to a control group or to one of two treatment groups. The main treatment in Phase 2 provides information about the views of young unmarried men from Phase 1 regarding marriage and female genital cutting. The study is designed to estimate the effect of normative framing on men’s attitudes and marriage preferences in Phase 1, and the effect of belief correction about men’s marriage preferences on attitudes and intended behavior regarding FGC in Phase 2.

Experimental Design Details

The project combines interviews, focus groups, and a two-phase lab-in-the-field experiment conducted in Egypt. In Phase 1, unmarried men aged 18–35 are individually assigned to one of four arms: Control (neutral information), Medical treatment (health risks of FGC), Legal treatment (criminalization and penalties), and Religious treatment (FGC is not required in Islam). The treatment messages are standardized and delivered through pre-recorded informational scripts to ensure consistency across participants. These messages were drafted by experts in each field along with the researchers. After treatment, participants answer questions on whether FGC is necessary for girls, whether circumcision status matters in choosing a wife, whether it matters to their family, their beliefs about community male preferences regarding marrying an uncircumcised woman, and whether they would circumcise a future daughter.
In Phase 2, married men and women who are not married to one another, and who have no children or only very young children, are individually assigned to either a control or treatment condition. The control group is asked about prior beliefs regarding men’s marriage preferences. The treatment group is shown information from Phase 1 on the percentage of young unmarried men who prefer to marry a non-circumcised woman or do not mind whether a woman is circumcised, and is then asked a set of post-information belief and intention questions. Main Phase 2 outcomes include beliefs about men’s marriage preferences, perceived social pressure to circumcise daughters, perceived marriageability consequences of non-circumcision, whether it is necessary for a son to marry a circumcised woman, plans to circumcise daughters, and intended daughter-circumcision decisions if the choice were entirely up to the respondent. Female participants are also asked about pledge-signing and willingness to attend an informational session. Participants are debriefed at the end and informed that the Phase 1 male respondents received an informational session prior to answering.

Randomization Method

Randomization will be conducted at the individual level using a computer-generated random assignment procedure. Eligible participants identified by the local research partner will be randomly assigned to one study arm when accessed on their phone. In Phase 1, participants will be assigned to one of four arms: control, medical information, legal information, or religious information. In Phase 2, participants will be assigned to either the control condition or the information-treatment condition.

Randomization Unit

Individual participant.

Was the treatment clustered?

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

Not applicable; individual-level randomization

Sample size: planned number of observations

Phase 1: 320 unmarried men. Phase 2: 240 married participants. Total: 560 individual participants.

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

Phase 1: 80 control, 80 medical-information, 80 legal-information, and 80 religious-information participants (320 participants total). Phase 2: 80 control and 160 participants divided onto two different treatment groups (240 participants total).

Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)

Supporting Documents and Materials

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