AI Index: ASA 21/015/2011

Indonesian authorities must immediately repeal the newly issued government regulation permitting female circumcision ('sunat perempuan'), and instead enact specific legislation with appropriate penalties prohibiting all forms of female genital mutilation (FGM).

The new regulation legitimizes the practice of female genital mutilation and authorizes certain medical professionals, such as doctors, midwives and nurses, to perform it. The new regulation defines this practice as "the act of scratching the skin covering the front of the clitoris, without hurting the clitoris". The procedure includes "a scratch on the skin covering the front of clitoris (frenulum clitoris) using the head of a single use sterile needle" (Article 4.2 (g)). According to the new regulation, the act of female circumcision can only be conducted with the request and consent of the person circumcised, parents, and/or guardians.

This new regulation by the Ministry of Health (No. 1636/MENKES/PER/XI/2010) concerning female circumcision, issued in November 2010, runs counter to the government's steps to enhance gender equality and combat discrimination against women in all its forms. It violates a number of Indonesian laws, including Law No. 7/1984 on the ratification of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW); Law No. 5/1998 on the ratification of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT); Law No. 39/1999 on Human Rights; Law No. 23/2002 on Child Protection; Law No. 23/2004 on the Elimination of Domestic Violence; and Law No. 23/2009 on Health. It also runs counter to a 2006 government circular, No. HK.00.07.1.3. 1047a, signed by the Director General of Community Health, which specifically warned about the negative health effects of female genital mutilation on women.

Female genital mutilation constitutes a form of violence against women which should be eradicated. Where the state fails to effectively challenge these practices, it reinforces the perception that others are entitled to control a woman's or a girl's sexuality, that is, to decide on her behalf under what circumstances she should (or should not) engage in sexual activity. Amnesty International is concerned that this regulation condones and encourages female genital mutilation, a practice which inflicts pain and suffering on women and girls, and hence violates the absolute prohibition of torture and ill-treatment. Female genital mutilation also encourages discriminatory stereotypes about women's sexuality.

As documented in a 2010 report, Left without a choice: Barriers to reproductive health in Indonesia, Amnesty International was told by many women and girls that they chose female genital mutilation for their own baby girl in recent years. The practice is generally undertaken by a traditional birth attendant within the first six weeks after the baby girl is born. The women said they had asked that their baby girl have female genital mutilation performed for religious reasons. Other reasons women cited ranged from wanting to ensure the girl's "cleanliness" (the external female genitalia are considered dirty) and avoiding diseases; to perpetuating cultural or local practices; or seeking to regulate or suppress the girls' urge towards "sexual activity" during adulthood. Some women described the procedure as being merely a "symbolic scratch", while in other cases they explained that it consisted of cutting a small piece of the clitoris. Many women interviewed agreed that there would be some bleeding as a result.

Irrespective of the extent of the procedure, the practice of female genital mutilation highlights discriminatory stereotypes about female genitalia being "dirty" or degraded; that women are not entitled to make their own choices about sexuality in the same way as men; and that women and girls can only be fully dignified in their religious practice if their bodies are altered, hence that there is something inherently wrong about women's bodies. Attitudes which denigrate women because of their actual or perceived sexuality are often used to justify violence against women.

In its 2007 concluding observations, the CEDAW Committee recommended that Indonesia develop a plan of action to eliminate the practice of female genital mutilation, including implementing public awareness-raising campaigns to change the cultural perceptions connected with it; and provide education regarding the practice as a violation of the human rights of women and girls that has no basis in religion.

In its 2008 concluding observations, the UN Committee against Torture also recommended that Indonesia adopt all adequate measures to eradicate the persistent practice of female genital mutilation, including through awareness-raising campaigns in co-operation with civil society organizations.

As state party to CEDAW and CAT, the Indonesian authorities must immediately take the following steps as a matter of priority:

1. Repeal the Regulation of the Minister of Health No. 1636/MENKES/PER/XI/2010 concerning female circumcision;
2. Enact specific legislation with appropriate penalties prohibiting female genital mutilation; and
3. Implement public awareness-raising campaigns to change the cultural perceptions associated with female genital mutilation.

Indonesian civil society organizations:

• Aceh Peace Consultative Management/APCM
• Aliansi Pelangi Antar Bangsa
• Aliansi Sumut Bersatu (ASB)
• Alimat
• ANSIDEM
• ANSIPOL
• Ardhanary Institute
• Asian Moslem Action Network (AMAN) Indonesia
• Asosiasi Tenaga Kerja Indonesia (ATKI)
• Barisan Perempuan Indonesia
• BITES
• CEDAW Working Group Initiative
• Center for Human Rights Law Studies (HRLS), Faculty of Law, Airlangga University
• CIMW
• Demos
• Fahmina Institute
• Federasi LBH APIK Indonesia
• Forum Pemerhati Masalah Perempuan (FPMP) Sulawesi Selatan
• GemaPalu, Lumajang
• GONG PEACE MAGAZINE
• GPSP
• Herlounge (Viena Tanjung)
• Human Rights Working Group (HRWG)
• Indonesia AIDS Coalition
• Indonesia Support Facility (InSuFa)
• Indonesian Conference on Religion and Peace (ICRP)
• Institut Hak Asasi Perempuan (IHAP), Yogyakarta
• Institut Perempuan, Bandung
• IRSAD (Institute for Religion and Sustainable Development), West Sumatra
• JALA PRT
• Jaringan Kerja Prolegnas Pro Perempuan (JKP3)
• JASS Indonesia
• Kalyanamitra
• Kartini Asia Network
• Kaukus Perempuan DPD RI
• KePPaK PEREMPUAN Komisariat Bali
• KePPaK PEREMPUAN Komisariat Bangka-Belitung
• KePPaK PEREMPUAN Komisariat Banten
• KePPaK PEREMPUAN Komisariat DKI Jakarta
• KePPaK PEREMPUAN Komisariat Jawa Barat
• KePPaK PEREMPUAN Komisariat Jawa Tengah
• KePPaK PEREMPUAN Komisariat Jawa Timur
• KePPaK PEREMPUAN Komisariat Kalimantan Barat
• KePPaK PEREMPUAN Komisariat Kalimantan Selatan
• KePPaK PEREMPUAN Komisariat Kalimantan Tengah
• KePPaK PEREMPUAN Komisariat Kalimantan Timur
• KePPaK PEREMPUAN Komisariat Kepulauan Riau
• KePPaK PEREMPUAN Komisariat Nusa Tenggara Barat
• KePPaK PEREMPUAN Komisariat Nusa Tenggara Timur
• KePPaK PEREMPUAN Komisariat Sulawesi Barat
• KePPaK PEREMPUAN Komisariat Sulawesi Selatan
• KePPaK PEREMPUAN Komisariat Sulawesi Tenggara
• KePPaK PEREMPUAN Komisariat Sulawesi Utara
• KePPaK PEREMPUAN Komisariat Sumatera Selatan
• KePPaK PEREMPUAN Pusat
• Koalisi Aktivis Perempuan Sulawesi Selatan (Sulsel)
• Koalisi NGO HAM Aceh (Evi Zain)
• Koalisi Perempuan Indonesia
• Konsorsium untuk Kepemimpinan Politik Perempuan Jawa Barat (KPPP Jabar)
• KPKB
• LBH APIK Banten
• LBH APIK DI Yogyakarta
• LBH APIK DKI Jakarta
• LBH APIK Jawa Tengah
• LBH APIK Kalimantan Barat
• LBH APIK Kalimantan Timur
• LBH APIK Makasar (Sulawesi Selatan)
• LBH APIK Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam
• LBH APIK Nusa Tenggara Barat
• LBH APIK Nusa Tenggara Timur
• LBH APIK Papua
• LBH APIK Sulawesi Tengah
• LBH APIK Sulawesi Utara
• LBH APIK Sumatera Barat
• LBH APIK Sumatera Selatan
• LBH APIK Sumatera Utara
• LBH Makassar
• Lembaga Advokasi Perempuan DAMAR Lampung (Helda Khasmy)
• Lembaga Partisipasi Perempuan (LP2)
• Matepe Makassar
• Mitra Perempuan
• Ourvoice
• PD POL
• PELKESI
• Pelpem GKPS
• Perempuan Mahardhika
• Pergerakan Indonesia
• Perkumpulan Cut Nyak Dien, Yogyakarta
• Perkumpulan IDEA Yogyakarta
• Perkumpulan Keluarga Berencana Indonesia (PKBI)
• Perkumpulan Rumah Perempuan, Jember
• PLU Satu Hati
• PMK HKBP Jakarta
• PT SUSDEC member of LPTP, Solo
• Puan Amal Hayati
• Pusat Pendidikan & Advokasi Masyarakat Marginal (Perkumpulan PEDULI in Medan)
• Rahima
• Raising Her Voice, OXFAM GB – Indonesia
• Rumpun Gema Perempuan
• Sahabat Perempuan dan Anak Indonesia (SAPA Indonesia)
• SA-KPPD, Surabaya
• SAPA Institute
• SAPDA Jogja (Sentra Advokasi Perempuan Difabel dan Anak)
• Sekretariat Nasional Solidaritas Perempuan
• Serikat Perempuan Bantul
• Solidaritas Perempuan Anging Mammiri- Sulawesi Selatan
• Solidaritas Perempuan Bungong Jeumpa - Aceh
• Solidaritas Perempuan Kinasih Yogyakarta
• Solidaritas Perempuan,Kendari
• The Institute for Defense, Security and Peace Studies (IDSPS) – Mufti Makaarim al-Ahlaq
• Walhi Kalbar (Hendrikus Adam)
• YAKKUM
• YASANTI, Yogyakarta
• Yayasan Anugerah Bina Insani (YABI)
• Yayasan Jurnal Perempuan
• Yayasan Walang Perempuan- Ambon
• YLK Sulawesi Selatan (Sulsel)

• AMAN foundation Kalkata, India
• AMAN, Srilanka
• Amnesty International
• ASEAN Progressive Muslim Movement (APMM)
• Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law, and Development (APWLD)
• Asian Muslim Action Network (AMAN), Thailand
• Asian Women's Resource Centre (AWRC) for Culture and Theology
• GSIR Ritsumeikan University
• INFORM Documentation Centre, Sri Lanka
• IWRAW Asia Pacific
• JASS SEA
• Muntada-Arab Forum for Sexuality Education & Health, Palestine
• Nasawiya, The Feminist Collective, Lebanon
• NGOzi Nwosu-Juba
• Sisters In Islam, Malaysia
• Southeast Asia Women's Caucus on ASEAN
• Vision Spring Initiatives
• Women for Women's Human Rights, Istanbul, Turkey
• Women Living Under Muslim Laws, International Coordination Office, UK

• Agus Sutomo, Lembaga Gemawan, Indonesia
• Anna Blaszczyk, Poland
• Anna Strempel, Banda Aceh, Indonesia
• Christine Anderson
• Daniel, Indonesia
• Deryn Mansell, guru bahasa Indonesia di Australia
• Dewi Anggraeni, Melbourne, Australia
• Dr. Free hearty, WOHAI
• Dr. Tiara M Nisa, Indonesia
• Evelyne Accad (Professeur Emerite, University of Illinois, Lebanese American University)
• Exsaudi Romadia M. Simanjuntak, Indonesia
• Firliana Purwanti, Indonesia
• Fitri Bintang Timur, Indonesia
• Ian Usman L ewis, Australia
• Jack McNaught, Director of International Internships Pty Ltd
• Joko Sulistyo, Indonesia
• Joy Appleby
• Julia Suryakusuma, Indonesia
• Katharine McGregor, the University of Melbourne
• K.D.Thomas, Volunteer Graduate, Lembaga Penjelidian Ekonomi dan Masyarakat Fakultas Eknomi (1955-1960)
• Maesy Angelina, Indonesia
• Merry Iyi
• Mitra-??-femivegi
• Ms Elena Williams, Australian National University
• Mukhotib MD, PAUD Pandan Wangi, Magelang
• Mustafa Sabaroedin, Minang Saiyo Melbourne
• Nina Nurmila, a member of Alimat and a lecturer of Universitas Islam Negeri Bandung
• Nino Viartasiwi, GSIR Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto-JAPAN
• Nunung Fatma, Indonesia
• Nurul Sutarti, Yayasan Krida Paramita, Surakarta, Indonesia
• Orlando Baylon Gravador, Task Force Detainees of the Philippines
• Padmawati Ari Suryani, Asian Women's Resource Centre (AWRC) for Culture and Theology
• Prof. Dr Saskia E. Wieringa, University of Amsterdam
• Putri Kanesia, KontraS
• R. Valentina Sagala, Indonesia
• Ratu Dian Hatifah, Indonesia
• Rita, Indonesia
• Sally Hill, Law Student, Australia
• Syafira Hardani
• Theresia, Indonesia
• Tunggal Pawestri, BITES, Indonesia
• Witryna Anna Gostkawskiej