Indonesia: Are harmful FGM practices about to change?

DW (English)

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is officially banned in Indonesia, but specialist clinics and traditional healers continue to carry it out despite the ban. Still, there is a reason for hope in conservative Aceh province.

Transcript

00:00This girl is about to undergo female genital mutilation, or FGM.

00:05We're blurring her face to protect her identity.

00:07Nearly half of all women in Indonesia, including this girl's mother,

00:11have experienced this procedure in some form.

00:14FGM is illegal in the Southeast Asian country.

00:17So why does a painful and dangerous practice persist?

00:20And can anything be done to minimise the harm to young girls?

00:30The traditional healer, known as a sanro, will use this special knife to conduct the procedure.

00:43She cuts the clitoris of the girl, causing a small wound.

00:47The practice is deeply rooted in Indonesian tradition.

00:52It varies from island to island.

00:55Here on a remote part of Sulawesi island,

00:57one step of the ritual is particularly risky.

01:01Animal blood is involved.

01:04This carries higher risks of viral and bacterial infections.

01:28Over the centuries in Indonesia, the cultural practice has been incorporated into Islam.

01:37Today in capital Jakarta,

01:39there are even clinics that specialise in puncturing or scratching the clitoral hood.

01:58While FGM is banned in Indonesia,

02:01there are no legal consequences for those who perform it.

02:04One of the strongest advocates for the continuation of female circumcision

02:08is the Indonesian Cleric Association, MUI,

02:11the country's most influential Islamic authority.

02:28The Indonesian Midwives Association strongly opposes this view.

02:51Nusraizia Jamil explains to her students how even the mildest scratches

02:56can carry viral and bacterial infections or cause medical complications.

03:04Jamil herself was circumcised at the age of six,

03:08when her own grandmother scratched her genital area with a coin,

03:11leading to a serious infection.

03:26Indonesia's Muslims are divided on the question.

03:39This Islamic teacher belongs to a progressive female-led group of religious scholars.

03:44She argues that Islamic texts suggest FGM was practised in some communities historically,

03:50but there's no obligation to continue it today.

03:57Back on Sulawesi, the Samro has completed the procedure and it's time for the girl to recover.

04:19But there are signs of change elsewhere.

04:21In this community in Aceh, among Indonesia's most conservative provinces,

04:26a mock procedure is conducted to satisfy cultural and religious expectations.

04:31A cloth soaked in antiseptic is applied instead of a knife being used.

04:37There is no injury and no medical risk.

04:40Back home, a new set of rollerblades is waiting and they can now be tested immediately.

04:56you

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