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FGM: Slow progress when talking to the UN about numbers
5.2.2016, by Stop FGM Middle East
UNICEF just came out with new numbers on FGM. Instead of 140 million, the United Nations Children’s fund now estimates the number of women and girls having undergone female genital mutilation worldwide to be at least 200 million. Those extra 60 million come from adding Indonesia to the list of countries “where FGM is most concentrated”.
But FGM in Indonesia is no news. Everybody who is concerned with FGM knows that the practice is widespread not only in Indonesia, but also in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Brunei. In the case of Indonesia, there were several small and large studies showing how widespread FGM was. In 2003, a large-scale study by the Population Council and USAID found that 86-100% of girls aged 19 reported to be “circumcised” (number of households surveyed: 1694). (more…)
United Nations Population Fund: Speaking out against female genital mutilation in Indonesia
4.2.2016 Source: United Nations Population Fund – Press Release/Statement
JAKARTA, Indonesia – “The day before I was discharged by the midwife, my daughter was circumcised. She is now three weeks old. When she becomes an adult, she will pray five times a day and read the Al Quran,” says Rosa, a young woman living in Jakarta, before expressing a common misconception in the country. “According to religion, an uncircumcised girl is considered dirty.” (more…)
Cutting the clitoris: Indonesia continues practice to prevent women from having sex
5.10.2015. by Kate Walton. One reason piercing the clitoris is popular in Indonesia is because it is believed to reduce women’s sexual desire and libido
A friend of mine recently messaged me in shock: “I just read a UNICEF brief that says millions of women in Indonesia have undergone female circumcision. I had no idea.”
Jakarta Globe: Despite Ban, Female Genital Mutilation widespread in Indonesia
18.9.2015. By Bastian Scheerpen.
More than 140 million women worldwide have experienced female genital mutilation, but not everybody knows that many of them live in Indonesia, where over half of girls under 11 are subjected to the dangerous practice that is widely condemned internationally.
Now, with research indicating that government regulations and religious decrees have little to no impact on the prevalence of FGM, activists and officials are making themselves heard once more, to call for a comprehensive solution. (more…)
Emirates Women: FGM In The Middle East | Investigating Cutting Customs
28.4.2015. By Lindsey Stevens
Emirates Woman investigates the culturally sensitive issue of female genital mutilation, and asks what is being done to put an end to this practice in the Middle East.
The preparations have been made. In a makeshift clinic in an old school hall, tables dressed with sheets and pillows serve as hospital beds. This isn’t a blood donation centre, or the latest round of vaccinations for schoolchildren. It’s a clinic in Indonesia where girls are taken to be circumcised. The coming-of-age practice is performed in many countries across the world. For some, it’s perceived as tradition, for others beautification, and many believe it’s intertwined with religious beliefs. According to official bodies such as the United Nations and the World Health Organisation, it’s a human rights violation broadly described as female genital mutilation (FGM), or cutting. (more…)
Global Post: The custom of female circumcision remains good business in Indonesia
15.4.2015. by Marie Dhumieres
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Komariah says she’ll show us how female circumcision is done. She grabs a tangerine on the kitchen table, peels it and takes out a segment. She picks up a huge knife from a shelf. Then she bursts out laughing.
“I’m just kidding,” she says, before taking a much smaller pair of scissors. She sits at the table, holds the tangerine segment up, and carefully makes a small incision at the top. “That’s it!” She laughs again. Her daughter watches, shyly smiling. She was “circumcised” three days after she was born, 13 years ago. (more…)
Day of Zero Tolerance to FGM: We need more campaigns in Asia
By Stop FGM Middle East
February 5th, 2015. On the fifth official International Day of Zero Tolerance to female genital mutilation (FGM), the campaign against FGM in Iraq is taking up speed and with its comprehensive approach already yielding great successes. Newest data shows: FGM can be eradicated in one generation. According to a KAP-Study by Unicef 72% of respondents in Northern Iraq say they do not support FGM at all. Formerly, FGM was practiced by more than 70% of the population.
FGM in Indonesia still of great concern
29.1.2015. By Stop FGM Middle East.
Last week, the United Nations Human Rights Committee has demanded that Indonesia submits its overdue report on Human Rights. According to the UNHR Committee the development in Indonesia is not positive except concerning female genital mutilation (FGM). In contradiction to this statement Stop FGM Middle East points out that FGM has unfortunately not been abandoned, the legal situation is vague and girls are still regularly mutilated. (more…)
Yearly Report 2013-14
11.1.2015 by Stop FGM Middle East
Stop FGM Middle East was founded as a website and a small research project in early 2013 with the aim of making the existence of FGM in the Middle East and Asia outside of Africa public. In August 2013 we started working with a small team to bring together activists from the Middle East and push the issue on the agenda of international organizations, national governments, religious representatives, the media and non-governmental organizations.
Here is our public report of the first year of our work. (more…)
Revisiting Reza Aslan’s response to Bill Maher about female genital mutilation
21.10.2014. After Reza Aslan called FGM an African Problem, Stop FGM Middle East contacted PunditFact to set things straight. Here is their clarification:
“Hannah Wettig, who manages the Stop FGM Middle East campaign for Germany-based nonprofit WADI and Hivos, pushes back on the notion of FGM as an “African problem” and criticized UNICEF’s reliance on national survey data. For one, she said, Middle Eastern women may be more reluctant to admit they have been through the procedure, as it’s more secretive than the public rite of passage in some African countries. In addition to Iraq and Yemen, Wettig said it happens in Asian countries that include Oman, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Maldives and the Philippines.”