Malaysia

There are no official data on FGC in Malaysia, nor on FGC in the Malay-Muslim communities in southern Thailand and Singapore. In the available literature, FGC prevalence appears to be between 86% and 99.3% among female, ethnic Malays in Malaysia. Although no study to date represents prevalence in terms of population or geography, and academic studies vary in scope and aim, prevalence figures are consistent over time and in rural and urban environments. In view of these studies, Orchid Project estimates an FGC prevalence of 93% in the female, ethnic Malay population and no FGC in the Chinese and Indian populations.

The data available are insufficient to estimate prevalence among the non-Malay Bumiputera, although there is anecdotal evidence that FGC is also practised by members of the Orang Asli and Sabah and Sarawak’s indigenous populations. The 2020 census indicates that Malaysia is home to 8.1 million female Malay-Muslim citizens. The prevalence of FGC in each Malaysian state and federal territory can thus be estimated from the estimated national prevalence of FGC and the number of female Malay-Muslims in each area. Collectively, these figures suggest that more than 7.5 million women and girls are impacted by FGC in Malaysia.