Outrage surges as we learn that the very people entrusted with the care of girls—the doctors, nurses and midwives of the health system—are now the ones performing mutilation. In far‐too many parts of South and South-East Asia, girls are being subjected to the cruel ritual of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C), not only by untrained traditional practitioners in remote villages, but by professional medical staff in clinics, hospitals or maternity wards. This is not only a betrayal of trust—it’s a grotesque commodification of culture under the guise of “safe” healthcare.
According to a landmark October 2025 policy brief by Equality Now, ARROW, Orchid Project and the Asia Network to End FGM/C—covering eight Asian countries—this medicalisation of FGM/C is clearly rising. The report shows that in places like Indonesia almost half of all procedures are now performed by trained midwives, and in Malaysia doctors remain primary providers (85.4 % in one 2020 study said the cutting “should” continue). A separate article from the South China Morning Post explains how the involvement of health-care professionals is giving the practice a dangerous veneer of legitimacy.
In the local vernacular one hears terms like khitan perempuan (in Indonesian Malay, “female circumcision”), or พับตัดอวัยวะเพศหญิง (in Thai, “cutting female genitalia”). Some communities still treat FGM/C as tahaarah (purity), maslahah (benefit) or part of a rite of passage. In Pakistan and parts of India the word khafd appears—though such local language should not distract from the fact that it is a human‐rights violation, not a cultural defence.
Historically, FGM/C in Asia was carried out by traditional birth attendants, local women “cutters” operating outside the formal health sector. But the shift is dramatic: trained professionals now perform or facilitate the same mutilation, often advertising it as part of birth packages in clinics or even on social media. In places like Thailand, doctors report doing 10–20 procedures a month in health facilities. This not only undermines efforts to end FGM/C—it threatens to entrench it deeper within the medical system. Why this shift? The brief points to several reasons: pressure from community or family expectations, religious misinterpretation, concern about “hygiene” or “safety” (creating a false narrative that “medicalised” = safer), and even clinic-based marketing. However, a joint statement from World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and other bodies is unequivocal: FGM/C is never safe—medicalisation does not reduce harm. The notion that a doctor’s knife makes it benign is dangerous myth-making.
Cultural context matters. In some urban Asian settings, there is belief that a girl must be “sealed” (ditutup, in Indonesian) or made “fit for marriage” (婚嫁準備 in some Chinese‐speaking communities) once she passes puberty. In Malaysia local groups talk of budaya potong rahim perempuan (“the culture of cutting the woman’s womb”). Yet even as this ritual is framed as tradition or faith, the absence of evidence of benefit is stark—and the damage is substantial, from obstetric complications to trauma, chronic pain, and psychological scars.
From a policy standpoint, Asia lags. Of the eight countries analysed in the brief, only Indonesia explicitly bans FGM/C when carried out by health-care professionals. In nations like Singapore and Sri Lanka the practice persists in private clinics, often unregulated and hidden from public view. The brief calls on governments, professional medical bodies and health regulators to adopt clear prohibitions, ensure accountability, integrate FGM/C education into medical/nursing curricula, and strengthen monitoring and reporting mechanisms. The WHO-UNFPA joint statement adds that one in four FGM/C procedures globally is now carried out by a health worker.
What does this mean for the girls? For every bit of cultural rationalisation, the truth is that a child or adolescent girl is being deprived of bodily autonomy, exposed to immediate risks (bleeding, infection), and long‐term harm (reduced sexual function, psychological trauma). The shift into clinics should alarm us—it signals normalization, institutionalisation, and a slippery slope away from abolition.
Ending this requires more than laws: a transformation of norms, and professionals who stand by the pledge “do no harm”. Health-care professionals in Asia must refuse to perform FGM/C. Parents must reject “medicalise it and it’s safe” narratives. Communities must denounce the belief that cutting makes a girl “clean” or “marriage-ready”. And governments must ensure strong regulatory and legal frameworks. In the Asia Pacific region, the battle against FGM/C is far from won—and the rising trend of medicalisation poses a fresh, urgent challenge. Let the mantra be clear: no girl should ever face the knife, whether held by a village cutter or a clinician in a white coat.