Female circumcision in Malaysia and several other Southeast Asian countries is commonly performed on female infants as young as one-month-old.This practice involves nicking or pricking the clitoral prepuce/hood with the requirement of drawing a drop of blood to complete the ritual1–4 and is classified as Type 4 female genital cutting (FGC) according to the WHO classification. Arguably, the nicking of the clitoral hood by a Mak Bidan (traditional birth attendant), producing a small piece of teased-out tissue typically given to the mother for burial, should be classified as Type 1 FGC. A report on the medicalisation of this practice in Malaysia has revealed that 36% of the 20.5% of doctors who practised FGC would cut the tip of the visible part of the clitoris with surgical scissors. This also meets the classification for Type 1 FGC.
