USP Electronic Research Repository

Female circumcision: Muslim identities and zero tolerance policies in rural West Java

Newland, Lynda (2006) Female circumcision: Muslim identities and zero tolerance policies in rural West Java. Islam, Gender and Human Rights, Women's Studies International Forum, 29 (4). pp. 394-404. ISSN 0277-5395

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

In the current parlance of the United Nations, female circumcision is often referred to as female genital mutilation (FGM), an act of harm or violence instigated against women's sexuality. Strategically, this labelling has provided an emotional force for universal zero tolerance policies. Yet, in rural West Java, female circumcision is practiced with no intention of harming girls and with no known effect on sexual pleasure. Instead, female circumcision is one of a range of practices that situates the child within the Muslim community as a moral person. In this article, I explore the nature and context of female circumcision as a Muslim practice in rural West Java and argue that the position of zero tolerance may complicate and aggravate socio-political relationships with unintended consequences.

Item Type: Journal Article
Additional Information: This article was also published as a book chapter: Newland, Lynda, 2008. Female circumcision: Muslim identities and zero tolerance policies in rural West Java. In: Spade, J.Z. and Valentine, C.G. (eds.), The Kaleidoscope of Gender: Prisms, Patterns, and Possibilities - second edition. US: Pine Forge Press (reprint), pp.117-126. 9781412951463. BRN: 1176336
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman
Divisions: Faculty of Arts, Law and Education (FALE) > School of Social Sciences
Depositing User: Ms Neha Harakh
Date Deposited: 07 Dec 2006 20:24
Last Modified: 06 Aug 2012 00:19
URI: https://repository.usp.ac.fj/id/eprint/2655

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item