The medicalisation of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C), where the procedure is performed by healthcare professionals, has complicated global efforts to eradicate this harmful practice. Rather than ending FGM/C, medicalisation risks legitimising it under the guise of clinical safety. These concerns were first raised during the April 2025 webinar hosted by the Asia Network to End FGM/C and Equality Now, which brought together experts from Asia and Africa to discuss the roles healthcare professionals play in perpetuating or preventing FGM/C.

This follow-up discussion explores how legal frameworks, medical ethics, and debates around female genital cosmetic surgery (FGCS) intersect with ongoing efforts to address FGM/C.

Medical Ethics and Legal Contradictions

In the UK, the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 criminalises excision, infibulation or other mutilation of a girl’s or woman’s genitals, including adult procedures. It permits exceptions only when medically necessary, such as during childbirth. Despite this, FGCS is legally offered to adult women and often promoted as enhancing sexual, gynaecological or mental health.

This duality exposes contradictions in how the law distinguishes between cultural harm and personal choice. Medical ethics face similar tensions. Healthcare professionals are tasked with protecting health, yet may accept patient consent at face value without examining the patriarchal narratives that shape such decisions.

Is Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery a Form of FGM/C?

Saarrah Ray, a DPhil in Law candidate at the University of Oxford, challenges the separation between FGCS and FGM/C. In her thesis, she frames FGCS as a form of violence against women and argues for its recognition as a variant of FGM/C. In Sister, Is this Mutilation? she writes:

“It is worth appreciating that FGCS and FGM seem not so disanalogous if we take seriously the depth and harm of socio-cultural pressures, deriving from a shared system of women’s oppression, that inform women how to feel what their vulvas and vaginas should look like and whom they service.” (Ray, 2024)

Ray questions whether women’s consent to FGCS, often influenced by beauty myths, pornography and self-objectification, can be ethically relied upon by medical professionals. For instance, if a woman undergoes vaginal tightening to satisfy a partner, her satisfaction may not reflect autonomous decision-making but internalised gender norms.

This argument raises critical questions for both law and medicine. Should healthcare systems permit procedures rooted in oppressive social expectations? And should the law continue to draw rigid lines between culturally sanctioned FGM/C and socially accepted FGCS, when both may stem from the same systems of control?

The medicalisation of FGM/C, and the rise of FGCS, expose gaps in both legal and ethical frameworks. As highlighted in the April 2025 webinar, addressing these issues requires more than legal bans, it demands a deeper interrogation of consent, culture and power. When procedures rooted in patriarchal norms are reframed as healthcare, both medicine and law must respond with clarity, accountability and a commitment to women’s rights.

Speaker Profiles

Professor Samuel Kimani
Associate Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Nairobi. With over 20 years of experience in global health, medical training, and research, Professor Kimani is a leading expert on FGM/C in Africa.

Dr Hannah Nazri
NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow in Obstetrics & Gynaecology, University of Warwick. Director of Malaysian Doctors for Women & Children. Dr Nazri works internationally to end FGM/C through education, policy engagement, and healthcare leadership.

Saarrah Ray
DPhil in Law candidate, University of Oxford. Saarrah’s thesis explores radical feminist legal arguments reconceptualising Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery as a form of violence against women and a variant of FGM/C.

References:

Ray, S. (2021). The Husband-Stitch: Could it be Female Genital Mutilation?. Available on: https://www.durham.ac.uk/research/institutes-and-centres/ethics-law-life-sciences/about-us/blogs/obstetric-violence-blog/the-husband-stitch/

Ray, S. (2024). Sister, Is this Mutilation?. Fem Leg Stud 32, 357–359. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10691-024-09553-0

The medicalisation of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) is an alarming global trend. Performed by health professionals under the guise of safety, it reinforces a practice that is widely recognised as a violation of human rights. In reality, medicalisation neither eliminates harm nor erases the oppressive cultural roots of FGM/C.

These and related issues were explored in the 4 April 2025 webinar “Understanding the Medicalisation of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C): Impacts, Challenges, and Solutions”, hosted by the Asia Network to End FGM/C and Equality Now. Experts from Asia and Africa addressed the scope of the practice, the shifting responsibility to healthcare professionals, and the barriers to transformative change.

A Global Practice, an Overlooked Asian Reality

FGM/C continues in over 90 countries, affecting 230 million women and girls worldwide (UNICEF, 2024)[i]. While often associated with Africa, 80 million of these cases are from Asia. The practice is prevalent in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Brunei, Thailand, the Philippines, the Maldives, India, and Pakistan. In many Asian countries, Types I and IV, considered less severe, are dominant. However, this perception has contributed to the practice being overlooked in global discourse (ARROW, 2020)[ii].

Despite progress at policy levels, including the SDG commitment to eliminate FGM/C by 2030, current efforts need to be 27 times faster to meet this goal (UNICEF, 2024)i. The practice persists largely due to misinformation, community resistance, and a lack of political will.

Quiet advocacy: The role of healthcare professionals

Healthcare professionals are increasingly implicated in the continuation of FGM/C. Dr. Hannah Nazri emphasises that advocacy isn’t limited to high-profile actions like lobbying or public campaigns—it can be quiet yet powerful. Routine patient interactions, education, workshops, and contributing to clinical guidelines are all meaningful forms of advocacy. Social media can amplify these efforts, but impactful advocacy doesn’t have to be loud to be effective.

That said, many doctors are overwhelmed by the demands of day-to-day clinical work, leaving little time or energy for broader advocacy efforts. Heavy workloads, long shifts, and administrative pressures can make it difficult to engage beyond immediate patient care, even when clinicians care deeply about issues like FGM/C. 

Advocacy within clinical settings also involves navigating complex social and ethical terrain. In societies where FGM/C is socially accepted or not criminalised, healthcare professionals may feel pressured to stay silent—or even comply. Dr. Nazri highlights that junior doctors in such contexts often struggle to challenge senior colleagues who support the practice, creating ethical dilemmas and limiting space for resistance. 

They must be meaningfully supported in their professional environments to realise their potential as effective advocates.

She also underscores the importance of cultural literacy. Marginalised communities experience structural exclusions that shape their access to care and health decisions. As Dr. Nazri notes, advocacy approaches must be context-specific—what works in one region may not apply elsewhere. For example, research in Malaysia shows many Muslim women who have undergone FGM/C report fulfilling sexual lives and reject dominant narratives linking the practice solely to sexual disempowerment (Isa et al., 1999)[iii].

Rising Medicalisation: Urban and Institutional Trends

The assumption that medicalisation is more common in rural areas is misleading. As societies begin to recognise the harms of traditional forms of FGM/C, medical professionals are increasingly taking over. In Malaysia, 20.5% of doctors admitted to performing Type IV FGM/C, typically involving pricking and needling, and some to performing Type I (Rashid et al., 2020[iv]). In Indonesia, healthcare workers conducted incision (26%) and excision (52%), often more invasive than traditional attendants who used scraping or symbolic cutting (Budiharsana, 2016[v]; Hidayana, 2024 [vi]).

Dr Nazri also warned of early signs that FGM/C is becoming medicalised. These include incorporating the practice into delivery packages, shifts in community narratives that frame it as “safer,” and informal medical training outside regulated curricula. She argued that regulatory gaps enable the quiet normalisation of medicalised FGM/C and highlighted the need for legal and ethical clarity.

Community-based strategies are essential to disrupting this trend. Dr Nazri advocated for engaging local influencers and religious leaders through culturally appropriate education, storytelling, and community health programmes. She noted that effective advocacy often happens when FGM/C is discussed as part of broader public health dialogues, not as a stand-alone issue.

Investing in Change: Education, Ethics and Legal Gaps

While some may argue that medicalisation reduces physical risks, Dr Nazri underscored that it gives the false impression of legitimacy. Ministries of Health and medical associations often remain silent, creating policy ambiguity and weakening enforcement.

The conversation also touched on how students and early-career professionals can contribute to change. Dr Nazri advised students to collaborate with advocacy organisations, organise educational events, and engage with academic supervisors on FGM/C research. For long-term impact, curriculum reform is crucial, especially for midwifery and healthcare education. She proposed that norms change be embedded into training, supported by mentorship and real-world engagement with communities.

Medicalised FGM/C is often passed down through informal channels, without any formal guidelines. Dr Nazri clarified that the lack of regulation has led to varied practices, and any effort to formalise procedures would risk legitimising them.

The medicalisation of FGM/C exposes a critical fault line in global health advocacy. While healthcare professionals can be powerful allies in ending the practice, they also risk perpetuating it in the absence of clear guidance and cultural accountability. The April 2025 webinar made it clear: dismantling FGM/C requires a united effort across legal, medical, and community platforms. Every patient interaction, every educational initiative, and every policy reform must push toward one goal, eradicating FGM/C in all its forms.

Speaker Profiles

Professor Samuel Kimani
Associate Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Nairobi. With over 20 years of experience in global health, medical training, and research, Professor Kimani is a leading expert on FGM/C in Africa.

Dr Hannah Nazri
NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow in Obstetrics & Gynaecology, University of Warwick. Director of Malaysian Doctors for Women & Children. Dr Nazri works internationally to end FGM/C through education, policy engagement, and healthcare leadership.

Saarrah Ray
DPhil in Law candidate, University of Oxford. Saarrah’s thesis explores radical feminist legal arguments reconceptualising Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery as a form of violence against women and a variant of FGM/C.

References:

1.  Unicef (2024). Female Genital Mutilation: A global concern. https://data.unicef.org/resources/female-genital-mutilation-a-global-concern-2024/
2.  Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW) and Orchid Project, 2020. “Asia Network to End Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) Consultation Report,” 2020, https://bit.ly/3lz5O4w. 
3.  Isa, Ab. R., Shuib, R., & Othman, M. S. (1999). The practice of female circumcision among Muslims in Kelantan, Malaysia. Reproductive Health Matters, 7(13), 137–144. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0968-8080(99)90125-8
4.  Rashid, A., Iguchi, Y., & Afiqah, S. N. (2020). Medicalization of female genital cutting in Malaysia: A mixed methods study. PLOS Medicine, 17(10).
5.  Budiharsana, M. (2016). Female genital cutting common in Indonesia, offered as part of child delivery by birth clinics. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/female-genital-cutting-common-in-indonesia-offered-as-part-of-child-delivery-by-birth-clinics-54379
6.  Hidayana, I. M. (2024). The Medicalization of Female Genital Cutting (FGC) in Indonesia: A Complex Intersection of Tradition, Religion, and Human Rights. Current Sexual Health Reports, 16(4), 217–220. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11930-024-00393-2/FIGURES/1

Join us as we learn about FGM/C in the Bangsamoro region in the Philippines through the lens of a homegrown activist, Fatima Allian @ Shalom.

1. Share with us about your organisation and its work surrounding FGM/C

 Nisa Ul Haqq Fi Bangsamoro Inc. or Women for Justice in the Bangsamoro is a group of Muslim women NGO leaders advocating for women’s rights in the context of Islam and culture. In 2019 Nisa was invited FGM/C as part of an exploratory research in the Bangsamoro region. This was initiated due to the dearth of data on both FGM/C practices and its impact on women and girls in Bangsamoro. This is the first FGM/C  in- depth research in the Bangsamoro region. 

2. What are some latest important finding on FGM/C in Bangsamoro?

Type of FGM

Bangsamoro girls as young as two months old and older women as old as late 20s are subjected to type IV. Blades, bamboo sticks, small knives,needle nail-cutting knives and cotton are interchangeably used depending on the traditional birth attendants’ (panday) preference.

Medical Practitioners and Government leaders

In the research, all the medical practitioner key interviewees strongly believe that this tradition is Islamic. Medical practitioners not only encourage this practice as it is deemed as a religious obligation, but they also enable the perception that FGM/C can control the haram of lustfulness. Ultimately, the medical profession also reflects the bigger social norm that puts FGM/C as a way to prove one’s strong dan devoted faith to Islam.

Economic implication for non-circumcised Moro and revert women

Social stigma against Moro and revert Muslim women who are not cut or circumcised will bear the cost financially as the community will stop buying from them as their businesses are deemed haram. 

Deprivation of quality of childhoods and life

This practice is silently signaling the immediate  transition from childhood to puberty indicating her readiness for womanhood despite her very young reproductive age. That at the onset of her menarche,  limits her opportunity to advance self development for her future and puts her at risk for reproductive health related problems due to betrothal arrangements of the elders.

3. As a field researcher, what was your key takeaway when engaging with the community throughout this study? 

This research reminded me of the differences that exist within the communities. Our Bangsamoro girls and women’s lived realities should be acknowledged and documented so researchers and lawmakers have a better idea to formulate impactful and survivor sensitive policies that will benefit and protect them optimally.

4. How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted FGM/C in the Philippines? 

On policy formulation and advocacy work against the practice of  FGM/C, we were not able to sustain the momentum after the presentation of the research with selected Ministries and members of the parliament due to the first (2020) and second (2021) wave of the pandemic in all areas of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

5. Who are the key stakeholders to engage as allies in anti-FGM/C advocacy in the Philippines, and how should we engage with these groups? 

The potential allies are policy makers of the BARMM, senate and congress' women, children , education and health committees respectively,  religious leaders , academic institutions,  peace builders and peace makers, SRH and human rights  network organizations. Exploring engagement activities such as series of dialogues, presentations of research and formulation of  policy papers that can popularise strong  anti FGM/C advocacy and lobbying works in the country. 

6. In your experience, how can CSOs and grassroots organisations working on FGM/C engage donors or the international community to fund community-led research? 

Utilising the political track of the peace processes between the government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the national elections in 2022 is an entry point as well. This shall leverage FGM/C a national issue of concern in combating SRH implications, protecting the bodily integrity of women and girls and ending child marriages. 

7. Why is it so important to have a network such as the Asia Network to support activists in the region? How can the Network help to increase awareness of FGM in Asia? 

There is power in numbers and that is definitely helpful in creating ripple effects in any advocacy and lobbying work. When policy makers and donor communities feel our presence in different parts of the world calling for an end to a harmful traditional practice, they cannot afford to recognise the call to end FGM/C as a form of human rights violation against women and girls.  There is a need to strengthen the call using IEC online and other platforms such as social media and academic institutions. The network can engage with the community partners of activists to develop sharper gender lens and understanding on Islamic rulings on FGM/C. The  production of IEC in local languages used in the madaris, community dialogues and local radio programs encourages activists to articulate effectively in engaging with local, national and regional policy makers and donor communities.

We spoke to the creative team behind the Asia Network’s branding to get a glimpse behind the scenes! Read on to learn about the design process of the Asia Network’s logo and website.

Nicolette Mallari is a freelance graphic designer and creative consultant from the Philippines. Getting to work on projects with a higher purpose and collective scope provides her the opportunity to contribute to social transformation – this has been her approach to publication and information design for clients like ARROW. Nicolette designed the logo of the Asia Network, working in consultation with ARROW and Orchid Project.

Why did you decide to take on this project?

I am more than happy to take on projects that have an impact on human rights, and women and girls’ SRHR.

Of all the graphic design disciplines, visual identity is the yardstick of a designer’s skill set. Much more than a merging of shapes, colors, and fonts to create an aesthetic, logos need to be able to express a visual narrative in the simplest and clearest of terms. The project for the Network started off with a design brief from the client, who outlined the purpose and objectives of the organisation. Design briefs are critical for designers, these provide focus and direction for the concept and outputs. Given the nature of the project, the Network also provided a shortlist of visuals to avoid.

What was the inspiration behind the logo design? What do the different elements symbolise and how did you choose the colour palette? Could you share a little more about the ideation/design process? 

THE CONCEPT

Before the mouse hits the pad, the pencil hits the paper. This meant research – symbols, shapes, typefaces, colour themes – anything that would consolidate the message, values, and visions of the organisation into a graphic element was noted and sketched out. One of those concepts was a flower, long used as a symbol of femininity, fertility, and health.

REFINING THE CONCEPT

The next challenge was to render the flower with clean, flowing lines and give it a recognisable figure. The final logo render is charismatic yet visually effective: a flower in full bloom – with petals resembling wings, and its stigma and ovule shaped to gently resemble female genitalia.

DEFINING THE COLOR PALETTE

The colours in the palette were carefully chosen to reflect the identity of the organisation. Specific color tones were requested in the creative brief. Teal green for its positive connotations in Islam; purple, as a nod to ARROW and the Orchid Project, and to the wider feminist movement, many of which have  purple in their logos; and yellow, for its sheer vibrance, is a symbol of hope and enlightenment.

Your hopes for the Asia Network to End FGM/C.

Like a flower in full bloom, may the Asia Network be the hope and renewal for women and girls.

The Silver Kick Company (TSKC) is a Bahrain-based creative agency with a big heart. The bright, young team have a burning passion to make the world a better place through the work they do, helping compassionate brands make an impact. We spoke to Maria Shaheen, the Digital Marketing Manager at TSKC. She handles everything digital: social media marketing, emails and newsletters, and website design and development.

Why did TSKC decide to take on this project?

The founder & CEO of the company, Shabana Feroze, is a survivor of FGM/C. So for her, anti-FGM/C projects are very close to her heart. As a company that believes strongly in being compassionate, we want to do whatever we can to help bring positive change to the world. Which is why we support non-profits in creating marketing material for their campaigns, workshops, events, and digital media. Whether it's pro-bono work or working on grants, we want to do whatever we can to help strengthen their voice!

What was the inspiration behind the layout and design of the website? What do the different elements/illustrations symbolise?

We mostly took inspiration from the amazing logo. (We shared the logo with our entire team because it’s so beautifully done. Kudos to the logo designer!).

Our design brief was super clear from ARROW and Orchid Project, which always helps! So we wanted to make an attractive, user-friendly website with vibrant colours to stand out from others in this field. Especially since this issue is a serious one, we don’t want to put people off from going through the website because it might be depressing or alarming to read information about FGM/C. With the Asia Network’s guidance, we chose illustrations that portray women from different ethnicities to make sure we include all communities that practice FGM/C. We used illustrations that create an impact and depict strong and empowered women.

All in all, the website depicts hope. That even though FGM/C is so prevalent, coalitions like the Asia Network won’t stop working to end it.

Your hopes for the Asia Network to End FGM/C.

We hope that by becoming more structured and raising more voices with other non-profits, the Asia Network can help stamp out FGM/C in our lifetime. No more women and girls should be subjected to this gender-based violence.

We hope to see harmful social norms and traditions changing because of the work the incredible members of the Asia Network do. And we hope we can help them in their journey.

by ARROW

The following press release was published in BanglaNews24.com

KUALA LUMPUR: Asian activists and civil society have called for collaboration, resources and support to end female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) across the region in a new consultation report into the practice.

Launched online, the consultation surveyed activists and civil society organisations in Asia and found a strong demand for a supportive network to help end the issue, a press release said.

The consultation is spearheaded by Malaysia-based regional feminist NGO, the Asian Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW), and global NGO, Orchid Project.

Sivananthi Thanenthiran, Executive Director of ARROW commented: “The Asia Network to End FGM/C is set to actively lobby governments in the Asia Pacific to end the practice to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 on gender equality and empowering all women and girls. We would specifically look at SDG target 5.3 which relates to ending FGM/C.”

Responses came from across the Asian continent, including activists, community-based organisations, survivors of cutting, government, journalists and academics from countries including: Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and others, where FGM/C is known to take place, despite a critical lack of data available.

Religion was perceived by most of the participants in the consultation as a factor driving the continuation of cutting in their local contexts. Other significant drivers identified were FGC being considered a social norm within affected communities and gender inequality.

The consultation report draws on interviews with activists, researchers, religious scholars and grassroots organisations working on FGM/C or other areas of work such as gender-based violence and sexual and reproductive health and rights.

They are calling for greater political will to end FGM/C, including legislation and its implementation and enforcement, as well as broad awareness raising, direct work with affected communities, and work to challenge harmful social and gender norms. Results indicated high levels of support for a network amongst participating activists, organisations and allies, with an overwhelming 96% of participants wanting to join the Asia Network to End FGM/C.

Respondents identified numerous challenges to their work, from a shrinking civil society space to organisations and campaigners being threatened for their activism – which is an issue of concern that the Network will be seeking a role in addressing.

One civil society respondent commented: “There is a backlash concerning FGM in Southeast Asia before campaigning against it has even really started. FGM/C is becoming more acceptable, parts of the governments are defending it, and NGOs and activists are attacked, if not criminalised”

Civil society actors in Asia working on the issue were largely individual activists and community based organisations (CBOs), and mostly reported low levels of capacity, recognition, and lack of access to funding. They called for a forum to reinforce local advocacy messages at a regional level, as well as urging for the creation of an umbrella organisation to help to provide legitimacy and support greater prioritisation of the issue.

An Indian activist taking part in the consultation said: “The issue of FGM/C in Asia hasn’t gained much attention either nationally or internationally. An Asia network would be a strong voice to show a united front across the region to push policy makers, UN and donors to focus on the issue here.”

The consultation highlighted the lack of support, capacity and increasingly challenging contexts for those working on ending FGM/C in Asian countries. The consultation process also emphasised the need for research and evidence generation across the board.

“We are really grateful to regional stakeholders that have engaged with the Asia Network to End FGM/C so far.  The consultation has really confirmed the urgent need for improved research and evidence on how the practice is affecting women and girls across Asia, and how we can end the practice.” said Grethe Petersen, Chief Executive of the Orchid Project.

According to UNICEF (2018), 4.1 million girls were cut in 2019, with increasing numbers at risk each year. At least 200 million girls and women have been cut in 30 countries, however, this figure does not include many countries in Asia Pacific where FGM/C is known to take place, so the true scale of the problem is unknown because of these gaps in data.

The Asia Network to End FGM/C will establish a platform of NGOs, activists, and researchers across these countries to build stronger relationships and collaboration between organisations working across Asia. The platform will gather data and evidence on prevalence, take survivor needs and viewpoints into account, engage with religious scholars who can influence communities positively, and urge governments to report on the SDG indicator (5.3.2) related to FGM/C.

https://www.banglanews24.com/english/health/article/83219/Pan-asian-collaboration-needed-to-end-female-genital-mutilationcutting

Read the Asia Network to End FGM/C Consultation Report HERE

By: BanglaNews24.com

Activists have launched a new Asia-wide network to end the lesser-known practice of FGM in the region.

A dearth of data and transparency about female genital mutilation in Southeast Asia has stymied efforts to stop it. Global attention and advocacy on the subject have tended to focus on African nations. But now a new pan-Asia network aims to unpack the region’s FGM problem as it works to end the practice.

Around 200 million girls and women are estimated to have been subjected to FGM — the partial or total removal of their external genitalia. But this data on the practice is almost entirely drawn from African countries and doesn’t incorporate most Southeast Asian nations where FGM is also known to take place, including Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, the Philippines, and southern Thailand.

“People don’t usually think of FGM as something that happens in Asia. It still has an association with Africa,” said Sivananthi Thanenthiran, executive director of the Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW), a Malaysia-based regional advocacy group. Global meetings tend to be held in countries in Africa, where the practice is concentrated, and funding follows suit.

This premise was challenged in 2016 when Indonesia became the first Asian country to be included in the UN’s global report on FGM prevalence. The “dramatic increase” in the figures “unsettled governments” in Southeast Asia, Sivananthi said, as it showed FGM was more widespread than previously thought. Among the findings was the startling figure that nearly half of Indonesian girls aged 11 and under had undergone FGM.

In recent years victims of botched FGM procedures have spoken out in Singapore, while concerns have been voiced about the unregulated nature of the practice in southern Thailand. In Malaysia, a 2012 study found that more than 93 percent of Muslim women surveyed had undergone FGM.

To strengthen advocacy in the region, ARROW, in June, launched the Asia Network to End FGM/C in partnership with British charity the Orchid Project (FGC, female genital cutting, is a term some people use instead of FGM for reasons explored here). The network seeks to build collaboration between groups already campaigning to end FGM – focusing advocacy work on communities, religious leaders and governments to help eradicate the practice. It is also hoping to address the Asia data gap. Better evidence about the practice’s prevalence, especially governmental reporting, could go a long way to inform Asian advocacy on FGM.

Within Southeast Asia Indonesia has been the most pro-active in challenging FGM — a movement led by women’s rights groups but also at times by the state. In 2006, the government banned the practice (as many countries have, including at least 25 in Africa). But four years later it succumbed to pressure from religious groups, issuing a regulation allowing FGM if performed by medical staff.

The law has been “ambiguous” ever since, said Nina Nurmila, a gender and Islamic studies professor who also sits on Indonesia’s National Commission on Violence Against Women. She thinks FGM ought to be banned alongside a widespread public education campaign about the health risks. But the official advice now just refers Indonesians to an Islamic health council to provide FGM guidelines, effectively putting no bars on the practice. The country’s women’s minister announced a renewed campaign to end FGM in 2016, but opposition from religious leaders has only increased amid growing Islamic conservatism.

Yet the Quran makes no mention of FGM. Leading Islamic scholars worldwide have said there is no basis for the practice, which predates the rise of both Islam and Christianity. And FGM is not practiced in many Islamic societies while it is undertaken by some non-Islamic groups including Christians and Ethiopian Jews. But in Southeast Asia many Muslims believe the practice is compulsory.

In Malaysia, it didn’t help that in 2009 the National Council of Islamic Religious Affairs issued a fatwa that ruled FGM obligatory for Muslims. Unfortunately, there is almost no political will to correct the powerful religious lobby. Last year Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is also a medical doctor, said FGM was a part of Malaysian culture – despite international consensus that cultural arguments cannot be used to condone violence against people. FGM has no health benefits and procedures can cause severe bleeding and problems including infections and childbirth complications.

The job of reframing the archaic practice as a humans rights issue rooted in extreme discrimination rather than a religious one has been left mostly to activists. The added problem in Malaysia is that FGM has been “normalized” by being offered as a routine medical procedure, said Azrul Mohd Khalib, head of the Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy, a Kuala Lumpur-based think-tank.

As in Indonesia, procedures are even offered as part of “birthing packages” in some hospitals, which further serves to legitimize them. In both countries FGM tends to be conducted at infancy, which activists say makes it a more “hidden” practice. Many women will not remember the trauma they underwent – unlike in countries where FGM is performed when a girl reaches adolescence in a more ceremonial and public manner that she can likely recount.

“For some reason the image is that FGC is not as traumatic as in Africa and is harmless,” Azrul said. “I completely disagree. An invasive procedure is an invasive procedure. You’re basically mutilating a child. And there is no religious justification.”

The new Asia network has started consulting activists around the region on how to move forwards. One strategy showing promise in Indonesia, said Risya Kori, a UNFPA gender specialist in Jakarta, is targeting young Muslims more receptive to change. The country’s growing female ulama (Islamic scholars) movement has also been a positive catalyst with more voices denouncing FGM, she said.

There are communities across Africa that are questioning and even abandoning FGM as a result of longstanding activism and the political will to enforce change. The hope is that Southeast Asian nations will soon do the same.

By: The Diplomat

Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) in Asia will be addressed by the development of a new Asia Network to End FGM/C, across countries such as Brunei, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Philippines, Malaysia, Maldives, Singapore and Thailand.

Malaysia-based regional feminist NGO, the Asian Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW), and British charity, Orchid Project have joined forces to support the development of the network, which they announced on Sunday (June 2) at Women Deliver in Vancouver, Canada.

FGM/C is practised in over 45 countries globally, but the global focus has not responded strongly enough to the situation in the Asia region. For example, in Indonesia 49% of girls have undergone FGM/C. UNFPA estimate that by 2030, a further 15 million girls in Indonesia will be cut if efforts to end the practice are not accelerated.

“FGM/C has for long been presented as a traditional practice with harmful consequences for girls and women primarily taking place in Africa,” said Sivananthi Thanethiran, ED of Malaysia-based ARROW, a regional NGO advocating for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of women and young people.

“What is lesser known is that there are many girls and women in Asia who are affected by the same practice. Because of the overall lack of advocacy in the region and pressure from the international community to end the practice in the region, governments continue to shy from taking measures to end FGM/C, which is in direct contradiction of a number of human rights commitments.”

Once established, the network will actively lobby governments in the Asia Pacific to end the practice to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 on gender equality and empowering all women and girls, and specifically SDG target 5.3 which relates to ending FGM/C. According to UNICEF (2018), 3.9 million girls are at risk of FGM/C annually, and at least 200 million girls and women have been cut in 30 countries. However, this figure does not include many countries in Asia Pacific where FGM/C is known to take place, so the true scale of the problem is unknown because of these gaps in data.

The announcement of the Asia Network to End FGM/C follows the establishment of vibrant networks to end FGM/C in Europe, the US and most recently in Canada – where Women Deliver is taking place.

“The first step in this process is to invite organisations across the region to help shape the Asia Network to End FGM/C,” said Ebony Riddell Bamber, Head of Advocacy & Policy at Orchid Project. “We will build a vibrant network in partnership with international organizations active on FGM/C in Asia, including Sahiyo and Equality Now, as well as grassroots organizations across the continent.”

“Our goal is to create a platform to jointly advocate for change, and identify how best to support and amplify the great work underway at the grassroots to end FGM/C,” Riddell Bamber added. If we don’t act now, many more girls across Asia will be subject to this harmful practice, and progress in ending FGM/C will be severely compromised.” she added.

Community and media reports indicate that FGM/C is prevalent in many Asian and Southeast Asian countries including Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Thailand, Philippines, Maldives, India and Pakistan.

The Asia Network to End FGM/C will establish a platform of NGOs, activists, and researchers across these countries to build stronger relationships and collaboration between organisations working across Asia. The platform will gather data and evidence on prevalence, take survivor needs and viewpoints into account, engage with religious scholars who can influence communities positively, and urge governments to report on the SDG indicator (5.3.2) related to FGM/C.

FGM/C has several immediate and long term health complications on women including infections, painful menstruation, urinary and vaginal problems, complications during childbirth and even death. “It is also important to frame FGM/C as a bodily rights and bodily integrity issue,” added Ms Thanenthiran.

Often, proponents of FGM/C justify the practice on the basis of religion, or some unproven health benefit or claim that it doesn’t harm women and girls. But religious scholars from different countries are divided on this, and some Muslim countries have banned FGM/C through fatwas and the law.

Support for the initial stage of development of the Asia Network to End FGM/C is being provided by Wallace Global Fund.

“No region of the world is immune from female genital mutilation/cutting, and advocates are increasingly speaking out against the practice throughout Asia,” said Susan Gibbs, Program Director for Women’s Rights and Empowerment at the Wallace Global Fund. “The practice remains poorly understood and largely hidden in the shadows. Wallace Global is convinced that the new Asia Network will play a powerful role in drawing attention to the issue and helping galvanize a regional response.”

Activists, researchers and organisations interested in being involved in shaping the network can contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

By: ARROW & Orchid Project