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It's only 'scratching': Religion, tradition preserve female circumcision in Indonesia
Five years since the government issued a regulation to discourage female circumcision, the practice is still rampant, especially among the Muslim community, who do it as proof of their adherence to Islam.
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According to the WHO, female genital mutilation includes all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other non-medical injury to the female genital organs. (Shutterstock/File)
F
auziah Erwin, 36, is a lawyer based in Makassar, South Sulawesi. While well-educated and possessing a good career, she still holds tradition and religious values very dearly in her life.
In the predominantly Muslim province where she grew up and currently lives, female circumcision is commonly performed at a young age. She had it done when she was a little girl, now she is arranging it for her 8-year-old daughter.
Fauziah said she used to object to the procedure, also known as female genital mutilation (FGM), as she had read much about its impact on health. She said she was also aware that the WHO had banned the practice.
But her mother has passed on religious and moral insights, as well as convincing her that circumcision has no negative impact on her sexual and reproductive health.
“My mother said there were great and important messages in the sacred procedure: to remind girls to protect themselves, especially their purity,” Fauziah told The Jakarta Post.
A UNICEF report revealed in 2016 that Indonesia was among the countries with the highest prevalence of FGM, which, according to the WHO, includes all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other non-medical injury to the female genital organs.
Based on a worldwide survey, the report estimated that half of girls under 11 years old in Indonesia were circumcised, and combined with the cases in Egypt and Ethiopia, half of 200 million girls and women in 30 countries had undergone FGM.
