UN Push to Ban Female Genital Mutilation in Indonesia

A continuous fight is being pushed to ban female circumcision.

Also known as female genital cutting and female circumcision, it is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as "all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons."

The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) spoke out against the Ministry of Health's refusal to ban female circumcision on Monday, calling the practice a form of gender discrimination. 

Though illegal in many countries, the circumcision has been historically tolerated in many areas throughout history and still is today.

About 140 million girls and women worldwide are living with the consequences of FGM. In Africa, about 101 million girls age 10 years and above are estimated to have undergone FGM according to the WHO. 

Typically, the procedure is performed, according to the WHO, anywhere from the ages of infancy to 15.

However, it has no long term benefits, and many who do not bleed to death have long-term health consequences from the procedure, including but not limited to recurrent bladder and urinary tract infections, cysts, infertility, an increased risk of childbirth complications and newborn deaths, the need for later surgeries, etc.

Rural Indonesian Muslims are one of the groups that have historically tolerated a form of female circumcision where a small cut is made to the clitoris of a young girl by a dukun or shaman shorty following birth.

The practice of female circumcision was officially banned by the Indonesian Ministry of Health in 2006 on the grounds that it was potentially harmful.

But in 2010, the government created confusion when it issued a ministerial regulation outlining how the practice should be carried out by medical doctors.

And with the United Nation working to ban FGM worldwide, the Indonesian Ulema Council has argued that female circumcision is part of Islamic teachings and a constitutional right.