This statement by ARROW and the Asia Network to End FGM/C was broadcasted at the 50th Session of the Human Rights Council Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health on June 20th, 2022. View the video statement here.
Thank you Chair.
I am Aarefa Johari from Sahiyo and I am making this statement on behalf of the Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW) and the Asia Network to End Female Genital Mutilation or Cutting (FGM/C).
The elimination of Female Genital Mutilation or Cutting by 2030 has been a part of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals for seven years. To truly end this form of gender-based violence globally, it is imperative to address its continued prevalence not just in Africa but also across Asia and the Middle East.
UNICEF’s estimation that at least 200 million women and girls around the world have undergone Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting reflects official data from 31 countries[1], but does not include a vast, uncounted number of survivors in nations like Brunei, India, Iran, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka or Thailand. Since the onset of COVID-19 and its ‘shadow pandemic’ of gender-based violence, girls from Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting-practicing communities have been at a greater risk of undergoing genital cutting, with few social, legal or institutional safeguards to protect them. This is because the resources and attention directed towards Asia to address this issue have been grossly disproportionate to the size of the population affected by it.
Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting is not just a violation of human rights but also a harmful social norm that infringes on women’s bodily integrity with harmful consequences to their sexual and reproductive health. It is held in place by gendered social, cultural and religious structures that seek to control women’s bodies, sexual expression and agency, while limiting their freedoms, aspirations and opportunities. This control is exercised at an age when a girl child is powerless to consent or protest: girls are cut before the age of one in countries like Indonesia, Malaysia and Sri Lanka; in the Maldives they are cut before they turn five; in India the ritual often takes place when a girl is seven.
Many Asian communities practice what WHO has classified as Type 1 Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting, or the partial cutting of the clitoral hood and/or the clitoris. Since this is considered less severe than other types of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting that include excision and infibulation, its prevalence across Asia and among Asian diaspora communities has long been overlooked in global efforts to end the practice. At the same time, there has been a rising trend in the medicalisation of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting, with UNICEF reporting that one in four survivors worldwide have been cut by a healthcare professional[2]. Medicalisation creates a false legitimacy for this inherently non-medical practice, putting more girls at risk of being cut.
Governments must respond to these risks with urgency, employing a multi-sectoral, intersectional, gender responsive and human rights-based approach that puts the best interests of women and girls at its core. We call on Member States to take the following actions:
- Invest in and undertake thorough research and data collection on the prevalence and impact of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting.
- Use the data to inform holistic national, regional and local policies on the prevention of and response to Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting, and ensure adequate budgetary allocation for implementation.
- Increase funding towards community-based and women-led organisations working to end Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting and support and rehabilitate survivors. This includes supporting organisations to strengthen their capacity and carry out their grassroots programmatic activities.
- Enact legislation to prohibit all forms of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting. Ensure that survivors and women-led organisations working with Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting-practicing communities are made an integral part of the consultative process of framing the legislation.
- Create and support community-based educational programmes to dismantle harmful, patriarchal gender norms that enable practices like Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting.
As we call on Member States to commit to this action plan, we look forward to supporting them and all regional actors in accelerating efforts to end all forms of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in Asia.
Thank you.
This statement is endorsed by:
- Sahiyo
- Orchid Project
- Musawah
- WeSpeakOut
- Wreetu Health and Well-being Foundation
- The YP Foundation
- Equality Now
- End Female Genital Cutting Singapore
- Rural Development Foundation (RDF)
- Kalyanamitra
- Yayasan Kesehatan Perempuan
- Love Matters India
- Sisters in Islam (SIS)
[1] UNICEF. Female genital mutilation (FGM). https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-protection/female-genital-mutilation/
[2] UNICEF. Approximately 1 in 4 survivors of female genital mutilation were cut by a health care provider. https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/approximately-1-4-fgm-survivors-were-cut-health-care-provider