Philippines

There are no official data to indicate the prevalence of FGC in the Philippines. The practice appears mostly to be limited to some Muslim communities in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), which comprises approximately 4.5 million people, or 4.04% of the Philippines’ population. Informal surveys conducted by international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and academics suggest that the prevalence of FGC in the Philippines is 80–86% of girls and women in these communities.

Bangsamoro (BARMM) includes an administrative region in the south-west of the Philippines and a group of adjacent islands. It comprises five provinces: Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. The regional centre is the city of Cotabato in Maguindanao.

It must be noted, however, that FGC does not occur in all Muslim communities: to date, its practice has only been reported among the Yakan, Moros and Meranaos.