Sunat Perempuan - Is it Harmless Tradition or Barbaric Practice?

A local advocacy group - End Female Genital Cutting Singapore - stirred controversy when they were reported distributing booklets entitled “10 Myths of Female Genital Cutting” at Ramadan bazaars.

The group was founded in 2020 by local Muslim-raised women and activists campaigning against the practice of FGM, or female-genital mutilation. According to the group, its mission is to hopefully abolish the practice of female circumcision and dispel the myth that the practice is compulsory in Islam. FGM in Singapore

Sunat perempuan or “female circumcision” is a common practice among Muslims, however, it is not openly spoken of. In the olden days, the procedure used to be performed by traditional midwives at home. Nowadays, it is mostly conducted by a handful of private clinics by female Muslim doctors, and it ranges from S$30 to S$50. The entire procedure takes less than 30 minutes. The news about the advocacy group’s outreach prompted a heated discussion among netizens on Facebook.

An overview of the debate on Facebook showcased a few perspectives: netizens who did not expect FGM to still exist in a first-world country, and those who did not understand the Islamic process of FGM, hence deeming it a barbaric act. In response, Muslim netizens defended and explained the procedure to enlighten the views of those who lacked the understanding on the significance of FGM within the Muslim community.

FGM and sunat, what’s the difference?

Both male and female circumcision overlap in certain aspects. Sunat is a must for male Muslims, as it is part of the fitra. Both male and female circumcision are done a few weeks after birth. Female circumcision is makruh; not obligatory. The only circumcision procedure allowed in Islam is Type 1 circumcision. This is the most basic, and involves the removal of the clitoral prepuce. Similarly for males, their circumcision refers to only removing part of the skin covering the glans. A complete removal of the penis skin is forbidden, as are Type 2 and 3 female circumcision procedures which might include the extraction of the labia minora, labia majora and clitoris.

“FGM and sunat are two different things. I believe it’s sunnah if we follow certain religious teachings. If not, to each their own. My husband feels the same too. We’re planning to sunat our unborn baby, following the sunnah and for hygiene. I still find it annoying when people say I got FGM, when I didn’t. My clit works and feels just fine. I’m glad my mum sunat me when I was a baby. It’s cleaner to me! I’ve had to explicitly say to someone my clit sensitivity is there and I can feel just fine, cause they keep saying it’s torture on purpose to ensure men are satisfied,” N, a Muslim woman stated when asked about her opinion on FGM.

Type 2 and 3 circumcision fall under the FGM definition. An article by the BBC interviewed a woman who grew up in Somalia where almost 98% of women and girls between the ages of 15 to 49 had their genitals forcibly mutilated.

This included having their labia removed and stitched together, and the complete removal of the clitoris.

“FGM is not wajib (compulsory) but sunnah (traditional social and legal custom practice of the Islamic community). My baby girl has done it. People keep saying it’s cutting off the clitoris. While yes, that might be true 30 to 40 years ago, FGM in Singapore now is only cutting out the outer skin of the clitoris. The amount cut is 1mm? It was so small I had to get close to see it. I’ve weighed between doing it or not, but I stuck to the religious tradition,” Qhairul, a Muslim father of a newborn baby girl states.

World view on FGM

“She (her mother) thought this was protection for me. She thought she was protecting the family honour. They thought if you weren’t cut, you’re going to be talked about, be stigmatised, or seen as someone who sleeps around with other men,” said Hibo Wardere in her interview with the BBC. Wardere’s experience depicts the common practice of FGM primarily concentrated in 30 countries throughout Africa and the Middle East.

Image Credit: BBC The United Nations called for an end to FGM on International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM. The agency described FGM as “a procedure that involves altering or injuring the female genitilia for non-medical reasons”, and on 20 December 2012, passed a resolution to ban the practice.

It is commonly considered a rite of passage into adulthood and a prerequisite for marriage. Often, the practice of Type 2 to 4’s FGM is performed against a woman’s will in such circumstance, and considered a form of violence.

The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) stated that it does not have any data that FGM is still prevalent in Singapore. However, the organisation was quoted in 2021 by an online media platform saying it “does not encourage practices that are harmful to young women”. Aside from this stance, regulations against FGM are not stated on their website.

Rachel, a non-muslim woman presented her opinion on FGM in Singapore.

“It seems that FGM is a tradition that’s been passed down and has lost its significance to modern-day Muslim women who do so to conform to societal or parental expectations. I think the focus should be on developing a conviction for why one undergoes FGM instead of whether it’s right or wrong. Hopefully more Muslim women can be more informed about FGM before they make a decision.”