Female Circumcision

Last week I read the blog of Colson from Holland titled " How to Curb Female Sexual Desire " in which he quoted an official of the Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI) saying that the purpose of Female Circumcision is to control Female Sexual Desire.

After reading Colson's said blog post, I deemed it necessary to write about Circumcision in general and Female Circumcision in particular.

According to Wikipedia, the word Circumcision (from Latin Circumcidere meaning : to cut around) is used to describe Male Circumcision i.e. the surgical removal of the foreskin from the human Penis, an established practice adopted by Moslems all over the world.

Beside Moslems, Circumcision is also practiced by Judaism, Coptic Christianity and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. For further details about Circumcision, please read here.

A very scary young girl about to be Circumcised

Unlike the Male Circumcision, Female Circumcision is considered dangerous by the World Health Organization (WHO)  which gave it a very scary name Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and define it as " all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female organs for non medical reasons."  Details about FGM can be read here.

For that reason, in April 2006 the Indonesian government, through the Department of Health, banned Female Circumcision (here). This decision was strongly protested by MUI which issued a Fatwa (Edict) in the year 2008 stating that the ban of Female Circumcision is against Islamic regulation. An MUI official explained that Female Circumcision is done by "incising the the skin that covers the front part of the Clitoris without harming the Clitoris."  

In response to said MUI's Fatwa, the Minister of Health has issued a regulation which allow Female Circumcision on the condition that it done based on modern medical standard to ensure the safeness of the female being Circumcised.
 
Considering that Female Circumcision is more dangerous than Male Circumcision, I hope that the government would ban Female Circumcision, or if it is to be allowed, must be based on the female's consent and strictly conducted by authorized medical professionals based on modern medical standard.

Photo :  Courtesy of Berita Aneh