Indonesia: FGM – still practiced despite ban – DW – 05/20/2025
Female genital mutilation (FGM) affects about half of women in Muslim-majority Indonesia. Circumcision persists despite the ban.
Resistance to female circumcision grows in Indonesia
Female genital mutilation (FGM) affects more than 230 million girls and women worldwide, according to a UNICEF report.
https://www.unicef.org/protection/female-genital-mutilation The procedure is widespread in Indonesia, although it is officially prohibited, and carried out by traditional healers but also in specialized clinics. It is deeply rooted in Indonesian tradition and over the centuries, has been incorporated into Islamic practice.
But resistance to the procedure has been growing for years, says the UN. https://indonesia.unfpa.org/en/news/uk-government-unfpa-support-indonesian-government-end-female-genital-mutilationcutting The Indonesian Midwives Association strongly opposes female circumcision. Now, in the conservative region of Aceh, initial attempts to introduce a symbolic form of the practice are underway.
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