FCII/alr genital mutilation (FGM) is one of the harmful traditional practices (HTPs)rn11'011[('17 i17 many cou ntries have been suffering f rom. The practicing communities givern(III(c'rellt jus tifica tions for FGM. These justifications perpetuated this age-old practice. [nrn(,oll/lmtil'lg FGM, therefore, it is necessanj to identifij the reasons that a particularrn(o lllllllinity gives regarding the practice. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was tornassess the rationale for practicing FGM in Gindeberet district, the attitude of therncOIlllllunity towards the practice and the attitudinal difference based on age, gender andrnedllmtiollal level. Sample for the study included 148 residents of four kebeles ofrnGilldeberet district, 208 grade 12 students of Gindeberet Senior Secondanj School,rnWall/en Affairs Officer, community opinion leaders and religious leaders from threerndifferent religious groups. To elicit the necessary information from the participants,rnquestionnaires, intenliews and focus group discussions were used. The study has shownrntlwl tradition was the most commonly mentioned reason for FGM in the study area. [trnIPrlS also found tilat all of the married female participants mith the average age of 35.5rnyears IlIIdllndergone FGM milereas only 63.4% offemale studen ts those mitl! the (Il1eragernage of 19.7 years mere subjected to the practice. Thus, FGM was more prevalent amongrnthe older generation than the younger one. Regarding attitude towards FGM, age andrnedllcationallevel were found to be influencing factors. That is, majority of the young andrn,'tlll ca led participants favored the discontinuation of FGM and indicated that they mouldrn/101 do FeM on their daughters. These participants further indicated that tlley wouldrnpllblicly denounce the practice whereas the rel>erse was true for the older participantsrn11'1/0 ll'ere beloll> secondary education. Majority of the male students shamed preferencernfor IImn.utilated girl as their future partner. As it was generally found out that literacyrnillfluellces one's attitude towards FGM, it was suggested that awareness creationrnprograms should be organized to sensitize the public about FGM. These programs shouldrninc/ude both males and females as FGM is rooted in tl1Â£ custom of the communihj andrn((/lIIIOt be eradicated by the exclusive effort of either party. To stop FGM, participatoryrns/l'lliegy sl/Ould be fo lloll'ed. That is, the community itself should be invoil>ed in thernprocess of banning FGM rather than imposing the standard on the community