IT’S FEMALE CIRCUMCISION, NOT FGM

MALAYSIA came under the spotlight at the recent Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), when the practice of female circumcision in the country was likened to the controversial female genital mutilation (FGM), carried out in some countries.

ALIZA SHAH reports that the Health Ministry‘s Family Health

Development division principal assistant director Dr Zakiah

Said has told the conference that female circumcision in Malaysia only involves the removal of the prepuce (the fold of skin surrounding the clitoris) and it is not detrimental to women‘s sexual health. Female circumcision that is practised in Malaysia, she says, should not be equated with FGM, adding that Malaysia has not recorded cases of complications from female circumcision. The ministry monitors this practice closely and has a guideline, which clearly states that female circumcision must be carried out by medical professionals who are ‘medically privileged’ to perform the procedure.