“The law of conducting  female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C) without medical reasons is haram (forbidden, ed.),”

“The law of conducting  female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C) without medical reasons is haram (forbidden, ed.),” according to the Indonesian Women Ulema Congress (KUPI)’s religious view and stance on female FGM/C. “All stakeholders are responsible for preventing FGM/C without medical reasons. And the law for religious leaders, community leaders, health workers, and families to use their authority to protect women from the harms of FGM/C without medical reasons is obligatory,” it says firmly. 

Announced at the closing of the second KUPI congress at Hasyim Ashari Bangsri Pesantren (Islamic boarding school) in Jepara, Central Java, from 24-26 November 2022, KUPI’s firm religious view and stance (also known as fatwa) is an important milestone in their advocacy for ending FGM/C in Indonesia, and ultimately protecting women’s rights and promoting their wellbeing. 

FGM/C was one of the five urgent issues (waste management for environmental sustainability and women’s safety; women’s roles in protecting the country from risks of religious extremism; protection of women from forced marriage; protection of women’s life from the harms of pregnancy from rape; and protection of women from the harms of FGM/C without medical reasons) discussed during the second KUPI Congress through discussion circles led by panelists, known as halaqah, and religious deliberations, called musyawarah keagamaan. These consultative processes culminated in the issuance of KUPI’s religious views and stances (also known as fatwa) on the issues at the closing of the congress on 26 November 2022.

The damaging and extensive impact of the harmful practice on women and girls--not only for their physical and mental health but also their overall wellbeing and future--make FGM/C a priority issue for KUPI. 

“The harms that FGM/C causes are incredible… We found a case in the KUPI network where a baby died because of it. It’s a human rights violation… KUPI cannot allow this to happen,” Masruchah, a member of the management board of Islamic women’s organization Rahima and former commissioner of the National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan) who serves in KUPI’s Deliberation Council, explained. “We have conducted a lot of research on FGM/C… KUPI is present in Indonesia to discuss the wellbeing of the humankind, of women… as part of the movement of religious justice.”

For Dr. Nur Rofiah, Bil, Uzm, a prominent ulema, scholar, and post-graduate lecturer at the Institute of Quranic Sciences Jakarta who serves as KUPI Committee’s First Chair, the controversies surrounding FGM/C make the issue even more urgent to address. 

“We prioritize the urgency of the issues… and the level of controversies surrounding them. The Islamic knowledge system that integrates women’s experience is nearly contradictory to the mainstream,”  said Rofiah, who is known as a strong advocate for gender equality. “The impact of FGM/C is significant because people see it as something good when in fact it brings atrocity… That is why FGM/C was included in the religious deliberation… We must be courageous in challenging controversies,” she affirmed. 

One of the ulemas leading the discussions and deliberations on FGM/C during the second KUPI congress, Rofiah has made powerful statements about integrating women’s experience into the Islamic knowledge system. “Don’t make men the sole standard of justice for women,” she said firmly at the KUPI International Conference in Semarang, Central Java, on 23 November 2022. “And what we call justice, well-being, state policy, social wisdom… must not make women’s reproductive system more painful and exhausting, even though men do not experience it.”  

Amid controversies and pushbacks using religious, cultural, policy, and even medical arguments, KUPI courageously and powerfully call for ending the harmful practice while addressing gender inequality as the root cause. 

“The mapping of FGM/C is clear for us. There is no benefit for women, it’s actually harmful. However, this information is not known by the public. We need to build new knowledge so that the community has the awareness to prevent and not do it even without a law that forbids it,” Rofiah elaborated. “Not only knowledge about interpreting religious texts, but also the Islamic knowledge system that integrates women’s experience. This is what’s missing… KUPI counters the texts with women’s experience, which is useful not only in responding to FGM/C but also other women’s issues,” she continued. 

KUPI first started to work with UNFPA in 2019 under the partnership with the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection, for socializing the prevention of FGM/C through module development, discussions, and information dissemination with support from Global Affairs Canada, through the Better Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights for All in Indonesia (BERANI) programme.  

“FGM/C is an issue that we have discussed for a long time within the KUPI network, especially since we started our partnership with UNFPA,” Rofiah explained. “But even before then, members of the KUPI network such as KH Husein and Maria Ulfah have long discussed FGM/C, and have even become the pioneers,” she continued. 

With the fatwa, KUPI’s journey towards changing mindsets, and breaking down gender inequality and patriarchy in the community will continue stronger. 

“The fatwa will become an advocacy tool… as the source of argument from a religious perspective… It will help our advocacy in dialogues with mass organizations,” Rofiah said.  “We are planning the launch of the fatwa and dissemination of knowledge in several regions where KUPI’s fatwa method is not recognized yet. We will also lobby strategic stakeholders such as the government and religious mass organizations,” Masruchah added. 

The dissemination of the fatwa is a long-term plan for KUPI. “We are hoping that the fatwa can echo everywhere… especially in regions where the FGM/C prevalence rates are high,” Rofiah said. “This is a long term investment for the generation of kiyai and nyai (male and female religious leaders/scholars, ed.) who have the awareness… not only of FGM/C and other women’s issues but also for mubadalah (reciprocity) for moderate Islam and for Indonesia,” Rofiah explained.

Therefore, partnerships with various stakeholders, including the government and UNFPA, is critical for KUPI. “We collaborate with the government and other sectors… We also take advantage of the digital space to reach and strengthen the capacity of students at pesantren and majelis taklim (religious education forums, ed.),” said Masruchah. “We work with UNFPA because primarily we share the same vision and work approach,” Rofiah said. 

Ultimately, this partnership seeks to protect women and girls and promote their wellbeing. “(My hope for women and girls) is that they have the awareness that they are, and are seen as others, as complete human beings, not only physical or sexual objects… intelligent human beings who are aware and seen by others as full subjects, not just secondary subjects or objects,” Rofiah affirmed. “Men and women must be positioned together as complete human beings.” 

Rahmi Dian Agustino

Communications Analyst, UNFPA Indonesia