We all commonly know that circumcision is only for which reason, female circumcision sparks a lot of conversations sparks a lot of controversies. It is a needles operation, which aside from it not having any medical benefits, it is also believed to be harmful and causes and adverse health effects to women.

 

   Aside from the health concern, female circumcision ignites protest more so because it is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and woman. It reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes and constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against women. It is almost carried out on minors and is a violation of the rights of children. The practice also violates a person's rights to health, security, and physical integrity, the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

 

    In the Philippines, female circumcision is customarily practiced by the Yakan tribe in Basilan to show respect to their Allah. It is believed that female circumcision is a pre-condition to become a Muslim. It is an obligatory practice; a required act of purification before they can pray in a proper fashion and read the Holy Qur-an and live with dignity and honor in the community. Those who are not circumcised will be stamped a "Kafir" (non-believer). Hence, the ritual is called "Pag-Islam".

 

  Five to eight-year-old girls are made to undergo the ritual. These girls are taught by their Islamic teachers that the ritual marks their passage into adulthood. It is a cleansing rite so that they would grow up in the right way. Girls who have undergone circumcision are considered ready for marriage. An uncircumcised woman, no matter how old she might be, will generally be regarded as a child, without wisdom, seen as inferior to others and not being blessed.

 

   But unlike the Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) of other countries that alter or cause injury to the female genital organs, such as the partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, or the narrowing of the vaginal opening, the "Pag-Islam" does not involve cutting. The procedure is merely a scraping technique with the use of a knife to scrape the labia majora of a child with gentleness to avoid bleeding. The scraping ends when the labia majora is already erythematous, or red in color.

 

   The first step of the "Pag-Islam" is the "Pagpandih". The person who will perform the ritual, called "Kah Dayang", pours water to the child's head while reciting the "Tawal" (prayer). This step is believed by the Muslims to make the child at ease and free her from the feeling of nervousness.

 

   One hour after the Papandih tawal, the actual female circumcision ceremony is started. This is usually completed in not more than twenty minutes, or when the labia majora is already erythematous.

 

   Following the circumcision is the recitation again of the tawal in whisper directed to the child's genital organ. This is usually performed to provide a blessing to the child that she is now considered Islam and can now pray and read the Holy Qu-ran. This marks the end of the female circumcision practice of the Yakan tribe.

 

    Limited studies on female circumcision in Basilan reveal that most of the Yakan are in favor of continuing the practice. For it speaks for dignity and honor. Girls emerge from the ritual with more self-acceptance and a sense of self-accomplishment. It is the idea or their belief of following Allah that leads them with a feeling of pride.

 

   But the health implications of the "Pag-Islam" should not be taken for granted. It cannot be denied that while the "Pag-Islam" merely makes use of the scraping technique, and allegedly causes only tolerable pain, there may be adverse health complications after the ritual. The use of unsterilized knife might have consequences, and may add susceptibility to tetanus infection. The erythematous labia majora may also lead to vulvar inflammation and infection.

 

   In 2006, the Municipal Health Office in Lamitan Basilan, where 80% of the Yakan resides, reported that one percent (1%) of the patients in the Lamitan Emergency Hospital that year were diagnosed as having suffered trauma, such as clitoris laceration, vulvar inflammation, vulvar infection and tetanus.

 

   Beyond the physical harm, the ritual can also cause mental and psychological harm to the young girls. Although studies report that most girls willingly go through the ritual, it is most probably because they have been made to believe by the elderly that circumcision will make them honorable and dignified women. No five-year-old girl can intelligibly decide alone what is good for her. She cannot possibly know all the implications and repercussions of circumcision. She merely accepts as gospel truth what her parents, teachers and the elderly tell her.

 

   Undeniably, circumcision is still a very traumatic experience for the girls. A study reports that fear and anxiety is very much evident from the faces of the young girls who are about to undergo circumcision. And an adult Yakan revealed that it was a struggle for her from the day her mother told her that she will have to undergo circumcision.

 

    Clearly, female circumcision for these young and innocent girls is a violation of their basic human and health rights. The violation lies in the fact that this practice is an infringement upon the physical and psycho sexual integrity of women and girls. It is a violence against them because the practice has no therapeutic reason or any health benefits.