Debate on circumcision heats up in Indonesia
GORONTALO: Indonesian toddler Salsa Djafar was wearing a glittering golden crown decorated with ribbons and a shiny purple dress to mark a special occasion — her circumcision day.
Shrieks filled the house in remote Gorontalo province as a traditional healer covered the 18-month-old girl with a white sheet and sliced skin off her genitals.
It marked the end of a procedure supposed to rid the child of sin and signal she was now officially a Muslim.
Female circumcision — also known as female genital mutilation or FGM — is considered a rite of passage by many. The UN condemns it and the government once sought to ban it, but opposition from religious authorities and its widespread acceptance mean it has been impossible to stamp out.
A government survey estimated over 80% of girls aged 11 and under in Gorontalo were circumcised, compared to about 50% girls nationwide.
Local healers say the practice prevents girls from becoming promiscuous, while there is also a widespread belief that uncircumcised Muslim women’s prayers will not be accepted by God.
However, the UN says FGM has no health benefits and can cause many problems such as infertility and an increased risk of childbirth complications.
The country’s second-biggest Muslim organisation, Muhammadiyah, discouraFGM but the largest, Nahdlatul Ulama, and the country’s top Islamic authority the Indonesian Ulema Council is still in favour.