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The Role of Ulama in Indonesia Contesting FGC and Advocating Women’s Sexual Identity

(Case Study of Jetis Village, Baki Sub-District, Sukoharjo Central Java)


By: Subhani Kusuma Dewi

The defined meaning of FGC is broadly known as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) or
Female Circumcision (FC) that involves total or partial cutting of the female external genitalia. Even
the practice of injuring the female genitals for cultural or religious reasons can be included as part of
FGC. The WHO survey predicated that there were about 100 million and 140 million girls and women
who have undergone various forms of FGC and at least 3 million each year who do so (www.who.int).
The obvious practice extends in several countries as well as Indonesia. Although Indonesia has
ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW),
this practice is still using in number and action.
The Government under the responsibility of The Ministry of Women’s Empowerment through
the National Action Plan for the Elimination of Violence Against Women programmed to address
FGC into their policies. Although that government has made a commitment to reduce the practice,
FGC is still particularly carried out by some ethnic groups in the country with the help of traditional
practitioners. Meanwhile, the information regarding the practice of FGC is not well-responded by
mass of people. In fact, they used to have the practice while the safety is unpredictable. They consider
FGC as part of their tradition so it is normal to practice it. Religious teaching however has been
believed as reason for this cultural expression. Yet, increasingly there is an attempt to ‘modernize’ the
practice as it is performed by health medical representation such as trained midwifes and doctors.
This paper focuses on the practice of FGC in Jetis, a village near the Surakarta Palace. In this
site, FGC has infiltrated Javanese tradition and is mixed with performing such a religious duty. So
FGC implicitly has become an expression of women who are obedient toward their society and
religion. On the other part, the existence of female practitioners, have no strong position to reduce the
customs. While at the same time most of policy in this village has been controlled by central religious
figure. Thus, the paper portrays thee struggle of religious figures to deal with the practice of FGC.

A. Brief Description on Jetis and FGC practice


Jetis is a small village situated in the northern east part of Sukoharjo, a town next to Surakarta
Kraton Hadiningrat (Surakarta Palace) Central Java. The existence of the central traditional market in
this village has broadened its function economically site. The resurgence of this field then contributes
to Jetis’ model of social life. Almost all of the inhabitants are traders in the traditional market and they
also work as farmers. Several people of a particular sub-village are well known as producers of bricks,
the trade that used to be their part time job. Only some people in the village take teacher or office
employee as their profession. The towering economical activity implicates people’s high mobility.
They often travel to big cities surrounds this village such as Surakarta, Klaten, and even Yogyakarta

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for trading reasons. Also, the presence of local banks in this village and good facilities for
transportation means a lot for their economical activities.
Besides good transportation, Jetis is also a village that surrounded by good social facilities.
There are some fine public services such as two elementary state schools and one Islamic elementary
school which is organized by the local association. Puskesmas (Community Health Center) and
Posyandu (Health Community Service) are conveniences to support health related matter of
inhabitants. What is interesting during observation in this village, is that there is a small college to
support young Jetis villagers to broaden their study. Talking about religious matters, the majority of
inhabitants are Moslem. But considering them as a homogen is somehow worthless. While most of
them are abangan1 there are also some Moslems joined Moslem organizations such as LDII which has
more radical thinking and also MTA and Muhammadiyah which are more open2. The various
affiliations of Jetis Moslem appear to be one of their motivations to maintain the FGC practice.
In spite of good accessibility to money and other social facilities, the inhabitants still have a
good will to establish Javanese tradition. As asserted by the local government officer, the inhabitants
have a close relationship to some rituals regarding their life circle such as birth celebration, wedding,
and also funeral rituals. It is sort of an attempt to maintain their inheritance and respect their ancestors
(Darori Amin, 2000:70). So, since infancy, new born, pubertal age, or even until death, people in this
area are used to following some rituals and ceremonies. A woman then will find ritual such as
pitonan, a celebration for seventh moths of pregnancy; selapan gratitude for newborn infants and also
sunat, a celebration for a young girl.
FGC is not a strange practice in Jetis, people in this village perform it regularly. They call the
practice sunat or kres as female circumcision to distinguish from tetak, male circumcision. In this
village, people understood commonly that sunat or circumcision is only done in a symbolic way by
cleaning the female genital organ. Even though it is known as an ‘apus-apus’ (tricky-practice), people
emphasize circumcision as part of the Javanese tradition they obey. During the interview, people
notified the circumcision as an attempt to get rid off sukerta (harmful energy). So, when a parent
holds the practice for the daughter, it means they try to refuse that damaging influence.
During observation it was found that although people practice the sunat in a good loyalty,
they were no longer considering the text of Hadith in regard to the practice. It may be concluded, that
rituals and traditions have been closely guarded by the control of mechanism. People have to obey the
custom obediently or else they will not pass social consent from society. So, rejecting the practice of
FGC seems like a contemptible thing to do. This mechanism of controlling society is practically
derived from the Javanese teaching that will be explained below. Differing from other customs in
Indonesia who circumcise in the infant age of the child; Jetis inhabitants perform the circumcision at a
juvenile age. The parent will accompany their female child of about 7 to 11 years old to go to the
practitioner and have circumcision performed. People believed that these ages are the pubertal period,

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where a girl may understand well the meaning of her circumcision. Almost all of the respondents were
circumcised at 8 years old as it is called sak-windu (count number of eight and its multiple numbers).

2) Changing Practice among the Traditional Practitioner, Midwife, and Doctor


The presence of midwives and doctors since ten years ago in Jetis village has brought some
changes in the procession of circumcision. The obvious changes are seen in the reduction of the
number of people who trust the circumcision in the hands of the traditional practitioners. The
difference in methods of treating and handling the patients and in ways of how the three practitioners
build relationships with patients certainly influences the acceptance of people and the practice of
circumcision in Jetis village. The midwife and the traditional practitioner, for example, have a good
and intense relationship with patients that enable them to explain better and have more hygienic
handlings. Meanwhile, as a practitioner, the doctor who has less interaction with patients also has less
influence in comparison to the previous practitioners. Undoubtedly, the public role of the three
practitioners determines the number of circumcisions performed by the people.
As a key person in the circumcission’s ritual, the traditional practitioner performs several rituals
including mutih, a fasting for one day before circumcision. She also requires the parents to bring
several offerings such as water with flowers, coconut fruits, and certain traditional foods, such as
jenang baro-baro as accessories of the ritual. The following are the procedures of circumcision
carried out by the traditional practitioner:
a. The childs eyes are blown from behind by his parents. The child is laid down on a mattress
covered with two clothes, jarik (a long clothe of Javanese batik) and white-unbleached clothes.
The child usually wears the sarong. But today the child may wear the casual shirt or a skirt.
b. The traditional practitioner reads several prayers as part of the spiritual ceremony, and then
circumcises the child by first mentioning the name of the child and smearing turmeric on her
genital (clitoris). After saying the prayer and smearing the turmeric, the traditional practitioner
cuts the turmeric. The turmeric used in the circumcision is put in the water with flowers, and then
used by the child to wash the hands.
c. Next, the child is required to drink a tonic liquid consisting of some ingredients including sweet
ginger, greater galingale and turmeric, tamarind, pulo waras dill. All these ingredients are
pounded and squeezed, not cooked. The squeezed fresh liquid of these ingredients is drunk by the
child.
d. The ceremony held by the traditional practitioner is ended with the child swallowing the contents
of a fresh egg.
e. The child’s parents then handover a hen to the traditional practitioner as a present.

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After all the steps of circumcision are held by the traditional practitioner, the child and her
parent may go home. While the child is following the circumcision procession, other family members
at home prepare the ceremonial meal to be sent to the traditional practitioner when the parents and the
child arrive at home. In the evening, on the day of the circumcision, kenduren is held by inviting the
neighbors and also the Modin who chairs the ceremony that night. If the parents want a bigger
ceremony, the party is held on the next day with the performance of Javanese music of Campur Sari
or the Javanese puppet show called Wayang.
Unlike the ceremony and offerings required by the traditional practitioner, a midwife does not
require the parents of the circumcised child to bring any offerings. Conversely, since the parents
should decide a proper time and day for the circumcision, it is the midwife that should comply with
the requirements of the parents. In the circumcision, the midwife uses sterile devices by applying
Betadine or other antiseptics with cotton to clean the child’s genital. The midwife rejects the
circumcision if it requires the cutting of the clitoris because, in her opinion, the circumcision is, in
essential, cleaning the child’s genital. As the requirement before the circumcision, the midwife asks
the child to pray and advises the child to take care of her genital health because she is grown up. After
paying about IDR 15000 to 20000, all the circumcision processes by the midwife are completed.
In practice, the midwife neither rejects the practice of circumcision nor accepts all the
traditional teachings regarding circumcision. Therefore, the midwife decides to follow the existing
practice and, at the same time, improve their practices. The midwife once admits that circumcision
should be understood as a moment to provide a sufficient understanding about reproductive health to
the child and her parents. At that time, the child is advised to keep the health of her reproductive
organs in good shape.
The practice of the village doctor is also different. In fact, this medical staff, coming later,
disagrees with the circumcision practices for girls. When the doctor begins her service in Jetis village,
she chooses to reject parents who want to circumcise their children by arguing that circumcision is
unimportant and that it has no clear grounds in Islamic teaching. The circumcision only follows the
tradition of ancestors. Moreover, according to the doctor, she does not want to require people to pay
money for an unimportant service. However, due to the limited number of medical staffs and realizing
that it is better to handle things in the more sterile way by medical staffs, the doctor finally learns and
tries to deal with circumcision practices with a new strategy. The doctor, then, cleans the child’s
genital but does not require the child to say creed of faith or other prayers. Sometimes, the doctor does
not even receive any gifts of money from the parents who come from low economic backgrounds.
In sum, the differences of circumcision practice by the three practitioners shows the changing
appearance of FGC practices in Jetis, such as:
1. The change toward economic efficiency. The people, in fact, have felt the complicated practice of
the traditional practitioner. Many rituals are felt as disturbances to their activities which in fact require
a lot of money. Beside the existing traditional practitioners, the increasing number of medical staffs

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has given the people more choices to circumcise their daughters. The people prefer to choose
practitioners who, from an economic aspect, are more cost efficient. They also feel that the party in
FGC costs them more money in regard to the habit of giving gifts during the party. When one
inhabitant holds a big party (ewoh) all of them must contribute some amount of money.
2. The weakening power of the three practitioners in public roles. Although the three practitioners
consider their job as the profession, they also perceive their roles as a dedication (in the case of the
traditional practitioner, the dedication is valued higher than her profession). Such a dedication creates
dependence among the people towards the practitioners and, therefore, they have a strategic role in
determining circumcision practice (Musyarofah, et. al., 2003: 72). The effectiveness of this role is also
influenced by their relations with the people. For example, the approach used by the midwife together
with traditional practitioner will produce a positive effect on the people, or at least, it has a potential
to reduce or eliminate the circumcision practice. The people will obey either midwife or traditional
practitioner’s advice because of their close relationship. But, on the other hand this practice can be
viewed as medicalization of circumcision that may be interpreted as an effort to preserve the
circumcision tradition existing in Jetis village (www.menegpp.co.id). Other examples of the
established relationship between the people and the practitioners can be seen on the role of the doctor.
The action taken by the doctor is quite clear, that is, rejecting the FGC practice, led to the avoidance
of people towards the doctor. This avoidance can be viewed as failure to convey the message
regarding the doctor’s rejection of the circumcision practice.
3) The changing appreciation of value and understanding of FGC. Generally, circumcision practices
in Jetis village are based on two teachings, Islamic teaching and Javanese teaching. The tradition
which is passed on from generation to generation has experienced many modifications from time to
time. In 1970s and 1980s, many circumcision practices used Javanese rituals and tradition. But then,
in the 1990s there were slight changes. For example, the people left some rituals (selamatan or
nyekar) that were common during previous circumcision, and changed them with birthday party for
the circumcised child. Based on some interviews with ten parents and children, it was found that
people today do not know much about the teachings or meanings of the circumcision practice. A 13
year old girl who was circumcised two years ago did not recognize circumcision as the main
ceremony; rather the child only remembered her birthday party. It must be admitted that the advance
of civilization and economic interests has more influence on the circumcision tradition in Jetis village.
Therefore, efforts to ban or eradicate such practices will take time and requires other social factors
such as economic factors and the advance of civilization.

C. The Contestation between Two Ulama’


The problem of less capacity of the three practitioners in influencing the policy evidenced a
gender bias among the people in Jetis village. It is, however, not separated from the construction of
Javanese culture on the existence of women. As it is shown in the book of Serat Piwulang, gender

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construction in the community still puts women in the domestic sector, as a second class community
who has limited access to public policies (Suhandjati, 2001: vi-vii). Labeling inferiority to women has
influenced FGC practice to work half-heartedly. Although FGC practice is widely known and the
implementation of the ceremony by the practitioner is held publicly, the presence and the voice of the
practitioners, all of whom are women, tend to be ignored by the community. It is certainly true in the
case of Jetis village women that they have been conditioned to accept a common perception which is
essentially a cultural construction of women.
Besides the factor of biased gender construction, the author has also observed that the
prohibition or the minimizing of FGC practice is influenced by the inherent attitude of Javanese
culture that it respects elders in a hierarchical manner. In this context, the presence of ulama’ will
automatically make him a central religious figure that must be considered as the elder of the village.
Together with this attitude Jetis villagers also consider the habit of giving more priority to the
common interests above private interests as valuable. Both of these cultural expressions contribute to
the crystallization of culture which is not constructive for women. The infiltration of Islamic teachings
into Javanese culture has made the role of a religious figure become very important, particularly in
maintaining a social harmony which is highly valued in Javanese culture (Darori Amin, 2000: 216). In
terms of this condition, such an attitude confines the voice of women because the cessation of FGC
practice is still considered as an individual attitude which is in opposition with the attitude that
preserves the social harmony.
However, there is a little hope of eliminating FGC practice as the ulama’ in Jetis village do not
share the same opinion about FGC. The two ulama who have great influence in FGC practice, Modin
and Ustadz, have different opinions regarding FGC practice. The domination of modin creates an
imbalanced socialization process. Modin, with more dominane as a formal figure in Jetis village, can
easily socialize and preserve circumcision practice. But the Ustadz, with a limited space of influence,
is only capable of socializing the rejection of circumcision practice in a limited pengajian (religious
gathering). It is worth noting here that the circumcision of a girl is an inferior issue for them. The
debate on this matter is a peripheral one in comparison with other issues. It seems normal that the two
ulama only pay little attention to FGC practice.

1. The role of Modin in FGC practice


Modin is an ullema whose presence is recognized by the village government. Modin himself is
a village government staff and he is competent in religious aspects of the community. He plays a
significant role as he is actively involved and leads every spiritual ceremony in the community such
as kenduren or rituals when someone dies. The role of Modin in religious worship is also seen with his
active role in the mosque. It is not surprising that Jetis people know him very well and also respect
him as one of the elders in the village. Modin’s charisma is also influenced by his attitude which is

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still trusted as a good example by the people. He is a religious figure that must be respected, whose
advices must be heard of (Darori Amin, 2000: 217).
The centrality of modin in FGC practice is seen from the kenduren ceremony held by the
parents of the circumcised child. Kenduren is a series of selamatan ceremonies during the
circumcision where people gather to express the gratitude for the parents for the blessing of God in
the circumcision of their child. During the Kenduren, attended by a small number of the neighbors,
they also pray for the ancestors and for the circumcised child. Inthis ceremony, Modin conducts the
opening by adressing ujub3, a requirement for a valid kenduren. It is unquestionable that Modin has
full support for circumcision both to preserve Javanese culture and his own role as the village
religious figure. During ujub, a Modin often speaks of FGC as sunnah for Moslems. The Al-Qur’an,
as the ultimate guide, has suggested people to follow the path of the Prophet Ibrahim (QS. An-Nahl
[16]: 123). Circumcision, according to modin, is a legacy of the Prophet Ibrahim which is still
preserved until the time of Prophet Muhammad. As it is told by Abu Dawud, one of the Hadits
describes the existence of circumcision at the Prophet’s time, i.e., the circumcision carried out by
Ummu ‘Atiyah4 Modin maintains his agreement that circumcision is an honor for their daughters and
for the parents themselves (Fauzy Bahreizy, 2001: 155). This explanation left a message for the
people in Jetis that circumcision had existed and it was allowed by Islamic teaching.
Along with the strong desire and control of the people to maintain harmony in life, the law on
circumcision is finally changed from sunnah (recommended) in Islam into an obligation for a
Javanese woman. In an interview, modin was quoted as follows:
"What is so called Javanese culture has become our lives. How can we leave it? It is
impossible! As a matter of fact, we live here on Javanese land. Moreover, our ancestors had
taught us to follow their paths of life. The circumcision existed before I was born, since the time
of my wife’s grandparents. So….If Islam also teaches about it, yes, praise be to Allah. It means
that such a tradition is not lost, and the religion allows it. It is the gratitude that matters, Si-nok
(a daughter) is grown up! (March, 11 2007)
Modin’s perception that circumcision is a kind of honor for daughters is not separated from
the Javanese literature which describes an ideal woman. The literature of Serat Centhini describes
circumcision as an evidence of service of a Javanese woman. For a woman, circumcision is an
expression of fear of God, in comparison to other deeds such as shalat and tafakur in the evening.
According to that literature, the practice will help a woman to be happy in the afterlife (Suhandjati,
2001: 48-50). As the result of such a discriminative perception, circumcision has become a
requirement of honor for women and for their parents, which is know as ngajeni (honoring) in
Javanese culture (Amin Darori, 2000: 131; Mansour Fakih, 1996: 16-17). Modin himself adds that
both Javanese culture and Islam agree that a grown up girl is expected to possess an ability to
understand the self, knows what is right or wrong. In other words, with the circumcision a girl is
assumed to be recognized as a grown up teenager, known as balek (baligh: Ar) age in Islam5. There is

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an understanding here that circumcision is a way to ngeslamke (Islamize) the child so she becomes a
legitimate moslem. For this reason, it is not surprising that the circumcision for a girl becomes an
obligation and, at the same time, there is an insult or biased perception for girls who had not been
circumcised until they are teenagers.
In fact, the understanding of people about the circumcision practice is recognized and
legitimated by the acculturation of two cultures; Javanese culture and Islam one. At this point, such an
understanding has been crystallized as a dominant ideology which is capable of driving the social
processes of people, including the control of behaviors or a woman’s body. With the understandings
inspired by the Javanese literature and Islamic teaching, the sexuality of women is formed and is
believed as something which is taken for granted (Andersen, 2003: 77)

2. The role of Ustadz in FGC practice


Ustadz is the name for this latter ullema. He has an important role in transforming the Islamic
teaching, especially the understanding about Al-Qur’an. Despite the fact that the Ustadz is not a native
inhabitant of Jetis, his presence in the village has a positive influence for the social or religious life of
the people in Jetis, especially in some sub villages, such as Wageyan and Daleman, where the Ustadz
lives. He is an alumnus of a famous Pesantren (Islamic boarding school) in Solo and now he is
teaching at a well-known Islamic university in the city. Several persons admit that the Ustadz is able
to explain for Jetis people who generally have limited religious knowledge. As an educator and
religious leader, the Ustadz routinely holds religious gatherings in one of the Mosques every Pon
Sunday (once every thirty five days) and every two weeks in the same Mosque. The goal of such
religious gatherings is to provide people with a contextual understanding of Islamic teaching. The
topics the Ustadz covered in the gatherings include Tauhid, Fiqh, Akhlak and also contemporary
issues such as pornography, all of which are summarized in pengajian Tafsir Al-Qur‘an. The most
important thing for the Ustadz is conveying Islamic teaching that deals with ibadah (religious
services) and muamalah (social services).
The role of Ustadz in rejecting the circumcision practice in Jetis village is quite significant.
First, as a non-native inhabitant, the Ustadz has a capacity to examine Javanese culture which is
sometimes inappropriate for the people in Jetis at present. Second, the presence of the Ustadz as a
non-native person in the area enables him to better observe the tradition preserved by the people in
Jetis from different perspectives. Third, the Ustadz has a different idea from the local people generally
concerning a reality of life. Rather than following the customs and traditions of the ancestors in
applying his religion, the Ustadz wants a reform of life which is supported by activities to improve
knowledge about Islamic teaching. Kuntowijoyo divides the development of Islam into three stages,
that is, mythology, ideology, and theoretical formulation periods6. It is during this last stage that the
Ustadz is trying to guide the development of Jetis people, using Islamic shariah as the basis to
analyze daily life problems (Abdullah, 1994: 92-93). Fourth, as the husband of a village doctor, he

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knows well and has direct interactions with the parents who ask the doctor to circumcise their
children. The Ustadz also notices the economic ability of the Jetis people which is different from their
real life. Therefore, the rejection of the Ustadz against circumcision practice is not only based on
theological reasons, but is also based on the local people context. Fifth, the circumcision itself is a
trivial issue for the people. It is well realized that this issue is hardly addressed during the prayer
gatherings because it is still considered a taboo topic. The Ustadz never talked about the issue in his
prayer gatherings except in answering the questions raised by his followers.
Although he does not agree with circumcision practice, the Ustadz quoted a Hadits that talked
about circumcision. Book of Fathu-l-Mu‘in, according to the Ustadz, commands to hide girl’s
circumcision (al-Malibariy, 1979: 232). However, it does not mean that the Ustadz ignores
circumcision practice in his village. He chooses to deliver his sermon individually to the doctor’s
patients who come to their house. Based on his reasons above, the author has a question of why the
circumcision for girls is considered embarrassing while it is not for boys. It seems that there is a
discrimination which is rooted paternally and has unconsciously crystallized in the perception of the
people (Musyarofah, 2003: 79).
Besides several social factors that are associated with the people in Jetis, the Ustadz also
based his rejection of circumcision on the Islamic teaching. According to the Ustadz, circumcision has
no grounds in the Al-Qur’an, but it is Hadits that rule it out implicitly. He provides the basis of his
arguments on the opinion of a famous ulama’, Sayyid Sabiq, who said that circumcision is sunnah
qadimah (Sayyid Sabiq, 1983: 33). It means that circumcision, as described in Haddits of Ummu
Athiyah, is a practice that was present before Islam and it is not necessarily followed by Moslems. In
addition, a review of several hadits on male circumcision indicates that the circumcision deals more
with a health dimension which is aimed at keeping good physical health. Therefore, according to the
Ustadz, in a case of a girl circumcision, there must be a health reason rather than a prestige reason or
just following the ancestors’ customs and traditions. The reason of circumcision commonly found
among people is that circumcision is identical to the process of islamization and purification and,
therefore, it must also be applied to girls. According to the Ustadz, there are no clear laws regarding
circumcision, neither the concepts of purification nor islamization for a child exist in Islam. The
concept of baligh is just a physical characteristic of a child and it has nothing to do with the practice
of circumcision.
Mesraini in her writings also finds a reason for circumcision, that is, an effort to control the
sexuality of women. Because women are considered sexually more superior than men with the
mechanism of circumcision, their sexual drive can be controlled. Such a practice is supported by the
stereotype of women labeled in Serat Centhini which, in fact has becomes the belief of the local
people (YJP, 2002: 34). The overlapping and mixed concepts of Islamic teaching and Javanese culture
confuse the people because they cannot distinguish the limits of the two concepts which, in fact,
contradict each other (Darori Amin, 2000: 120)7. The concept of purification also motivates people to

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perform a ceremony as a symbol of the completion of circumcision. The Ustadz admits that, in fact,
Islam regulates a ceremony to thank God which is called walimah. Walimah has an ideal value as an
expression of gratitude and happiness for certain gifts of God. More importantly, a walimah should be
made according to the capability of those who celebrate it. The Ustadz observes that such an ideal
value is sometimes ignored by the people that walimah, which is well known in Javanese terms as
kenduren, is not motivated by gratitude but is a symbol of purification of their daughter. The
difference of such meanings affects the difference of law for the walimah or the kenduren and makes
it seems like an obligation for the people.
According to the Ustadz, the stimulus to increase the prestige contradicts other Islamic
teaching; it is called tabdzir or something excessive (QS. An-Nahl [16]: 13) and it does not bring any
benefit for the people. In this modern time, the ceremony which is often called ewoh (holding a big
party) also correlates with the economic factor in its practice. In ewoh, people have a tradition of
exchanging gifts with the host. The Ustadz sees that such a custom has shifted in meaning. In the past,
people used to exchange gifts when the use of money was minimal, known as barter. But today, when
people accustomed to measure everything with money, such an exchange custom of the past has
become a commodity. It becomes a medium to get economic benefits (Aafke Komter, 2007: 96).

D. Conclussion
Jetis can be called the centre of economic activity among the villages in Baki sub-district,
Sukoharjo Central Java. The site leads the villagers to gain some profits, such as income and many
social facilities (schools, hospitals, local bank, etc.). Besides this condition that indicates modern
status, Jetis villagers have grown up within their Javanese traditions where FGC is practiced. The
villagers called FGC sunat, a word which is originally from the Arabic language; it is aimed to purify
their girls from sukerta (bad-luck). Since a long time ago the practice has been held in a symbolic way
and supported by both Javanese societal customs or tradition and Islamic religious duty. The existence
of traditional practitioners preserved the practice although within the last ten years her profession was
slowly replaced by the emergence of two medical representatives; a midwife and a doctor. The
Midwife realized that sunat can not be stopped since the villagers hold their tradition, so she only tries
to hygienize the sunat. On the other side, the doctor is convinced it is just a tricky practice (apus-
apus), nothing more than unreasonable and ineffective tradition. Although both the doctor and the
midwife have tried to bring the practice to an end, they have weak potency to change the condition.
There were two Ulama’ in Jetis who have a strong position within Jetis Moslems related to the
practice of FGC. The first is a formal religious leader whom the villagers call modin, who supports the
continuity of FGC. It is proved, when he always comes to the kenduren (celebration) with regard to
the practice. He particularly advises the practice of FGC based on Hadits Abu Dawud of male
circumcision. He states that sunat (circumcision) is part of the Abrahamic tradition to revere the

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woman’s nobility. The most important reason, he argues, is that this Islamic value corresponds with
Javanese tradition.
The other Ulama’ is called Ustadz, an Islamic pesantren (Islamic Boarding School) teacher, he
confirms FGC as a rare issue during his pengajian (religious learning), so he just criticizes the
practice in non-formal meetings. He considers FGC to have two aspects of fruitless practice. First,
there is neither Qur’anic nor Hadits (which in fact lays in debatable condition) that mention the
specific recommendation of FGC. Second, the Ustadz realises that a purifying idea did not come from
an Islamic idea because a girl is basically born with blessed status or sin free, so FGC’s practice in
Jetis was, in fact, a fake ritual. Moreover he saw the ritual and celebration of FGC is only worthless
consumption, so in essence, it contradicts the spirit of a ‘simply-life in Islam.
Thus, in the more patriarchal culture FGC is considered as an unimportant issue although most
of the villagers still practice it. The smallest access to information for all the villagers and
practitioners on the effects of reproductive health tends to perpetuate its continuation as a purely
‘traditional’ practice. The wave of prohibition which appeared only in personal effort, from the
Ustadz and Doctor, predicted that the end-goal of FGC in this village needs more attention from a
formal policy. Also, discovering a local culture that has alliances with its prohibition may become an
effective effort to help its ban.

E. Referrences
Abdullah, Irwan, The Muslim Business of Jatinom: Religious Reform and Modernization in a Central
Java Town, Universitet van Amsterdan, 1994
Amin, Darori (ed.), Islam dan Budaya Jawa, Yogyakarta: Gama Media, 2000
Andersen, Margaret L., Thinking About Women: Sociological Perspectives on Sex and Gender, sixth
edition, USA: Pearson Education.Inc, 2003
Bahreisy, Fauzi, Mengantar Balita Menuju Dewasa, Jakarta: Serambi, 2001
Budiharsana, Meiwita, Research Report Female Circumcision in Indonesia: Extent, Implications and
Possible Interventions to Uphold Women’s Health Rights, Jakarta: September 2003
Jurnal Perempuan, ’Hentikan Kekerasan Terhadap Perempuan’, no.26 2002
Komter, Aafke, Gifts and Social Relation, International Sociology and Sage Publication, 2007.
Musyarofah, Ristiani, Khitan Perempuan: Antara Tradisi dan Ajaran Agama, Yogyakarta: PSKK-
UGM and Ford Foundation, 2003
Sabiq, Sayyid, Fiqh al-Sunnah, Beirut: Daar al-Fikr, 1983
Sukri, Sri Suhandjati, Ridin Sofwan, Perempuan dan Seksualitas dalam Tradisi Jawa, Yogyakarta:
Gama Media, 2001
http://www.menegpp.co.id
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/
http://www.who.int/health_topics/female_genital_mutilation/en/

11
12
1
Abangan is the term introduced by Clifford Geertz used to express the status of Moslem low fidelity. (Geertz, 1960).
2
Besides both NU and Muhammadiyah as a majority of Moslem organizations in Indonesia, there are some smaller
Islamic organizations. Parts of them are MTA and LDII. MTA (Council of Quranic Interpretation) was founded by KH.
Abdullah Tufail in Solo. The Council has concerned them selves with Moslem gatherings on Quranic interpretation for
several years. Recently, they have also begun to study Hadits interpretation. MTA strives to solve Moslem’s problems
based on Quranic interpretation in more rational and contextual ways. They adopted the teaching of Moslem kaffah
(comprehensive) by balancing ibadah and muamalah. Today, MTA has spread the branch all over Java and parts of other
islands in Indonesia.www.mta-online.com.
LDII (Indonesian Islamic Missionary Organization) was founded in Surabaya January 3, 1972 and has extended
representatives into village areas. Based on their aim to establish Islamic state in Indonesia and the adoption of an amir
leadership model, LDII has even been suspected as a reincarnated organization of an Islamic radical group Islam Jamaah
in the New Order Era. Today, this organization focuses on economic activism by adopting Syariah as a basic teaching and
interfaith activism while struggling with legalizing the status before MUI (Council Ulama of Indonesia). www.ldii.or.id
3
Ujub is a speech delivered by the Modin during the gathering of kenduren. Here, he announces the purpose of parents to
circumcise the girl. He usually adds some information related to the practice of FGC from both Javanese and Islamic
teaching.
4
The Hadits said: “Cut off only the foreskin (the prepuce or outer fold of skin over the clitoris) and do not cut off deeply
(not cutting the clitoris itself), for this is brighter for the face (of the girl) and more favorable with the husband.” Abu
Dawud, As-Sunan, Kitab al-Adab, Hadits: 5271, Juz IV, p.368.
5
Term taken from Arabic language, means the maturity stage of child.
6
Mytological era which occurred in the 90s era, is the era when Moslem used mythology as the base of their religious
knowledge. Period of ideology (1900 to 1965), when the knowledge value became the base of normative formulation for
developing strong ideology, which turned into action. And the last period, theoretical formulation started after the end of
1965 where people tried to reformulate their religious knowledge into more various contextual interests.
7
According to Darori Amin there are two faces of syncretism between Islam and Javanese culture. On the one hand
syncretism occurred within external parts of Islam so Islam appeared as a cover of essential Javanese value. While on the
other side, there is an attempt to give Islamic value to Javanese cultural expression although it is not labeled by Islam.
Both different strategies tend to stimulate a rather different meaning for such cultural expressions within Javanese society.

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