religion
Religions may tactfully or explicitly reinforce the belief that women who are not genitally mutilated lack purity and are undesirable. Those who have not undergone the procedure are viewed in some societies as "unclean" and promiscuous, and may be barred from entering certain worship areas. These women will be social outcasts--women that no man would take as a wife. It is with this understanding that a mother's motivation to inflict the procedure on her daughters becomes apparent.