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University of the Philippines

Manila

Indigenous empowerment of Tausug women

in the practice of female agency and choice on female circumcision

In partial fulfilment

Of the requirements for the degree of

Bachelor of Arts in Political Science

Submitted by

Paiso, Sherminaylah S.

IV- BA Political Science

2015-45019

Submitted to

Professor Jose Mari Lanuza

Thesis Adviser

May 2019

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Table of contents

1. Title page……………………………………………………………………….0

2. Approval sheet ………………………………………………………………..1

3. table of contents………………………………………………………………2

4. Abstract……………………………………………………………………….4

5. Acknowledgement……………………………………………………………5

6. chapter 1 introduction…………………………………………………………7

A. Background of the study ………………………………………………7

B. Statement of the Problem ………………………………………………10

C. Scope and Limitations …………………………………………………13

D. Conceptual limitations …………………………………………………13

E. Practical limitations ……………………………………………………14

F. Significance of the study ………………………………………………17

G. Conceptual Framework ………………………………………………18

H. Theoretical Framework …………………………………………………24

7. Chapter 2: Review of related literature…………………………………………27

A. History and Evolution of FGM…………………………………………27

B. FGM/C in the Philippines………………………………………………28

C. Female Genital Mutilation or Female Genital Circumcision? …………30

D. Cultural Relativism vs. Universalism …………………………………31

E. Alternative views ……………………………………………………32

F. Feminism ……………………………………………………33

G. Anti-FGM Discourse…………………………………………………34

H. Indigenous Feminism………………………………………………35

8. Chapter 3: Methodology……………………………………………………36

A. Research Design……………………………………………………36

B. Locale of study……………………………………………………36

C. Method and Instrument ………………………………………………37

D. Obtaining and selecting respondents …………………………………37

E. Qualitative ethnographic in-depth interviews ……………………………8

F. First Group: Mothers …………………………………………………39

G. Key-Informant Interviews (KII) ………………………………...........40

H. Political Autoethnography……………………………………………40

I. Data Analysis Method…………………………………………………42

1. Interview notes and Transcription…………………………………..…42

J. Data Validation………………………………………………………43

K. Adhering to ethical principles………………………………………….44

L. My autoethnography: How do I fit in this study? ………………………45

9. Chapter 4: Results & Analysis……………………………………………… 48

A. Overview …………………………………………………… 48

B. First group: Tausug Muslim mothers………………………………48

C. KII: Panday set…………………………………………………… 61

D. Summary ……………………………………………………67

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10. Chapter 5: Discussion, Conclusion, Recommendation……………… 68

A. Discussion ……………………………………………………68

B. Facets of empowerment……………………………………… 69

C. Implications to theory…………………………………………70

D. RRL implications………………………………………………71

E. Conclusion……………………………………………………..73

F. Recommendations ……………………………………………..74

11. Bibliography …………………………………………………………….75

12. Appendix ………………………………………………………………..79

A. Informed Consent Form …………………………………………79

B. Interview guide questions for the mother ………………………83

C. Interview guide questions for the Panday (KII) ………………86

Initial coding scheme …………………………………………………………..89

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Abstract

Despite international criticism for female genital mutilation (FGM), Tausug women in the

Philippines continue to practice and value a localized form referred to as Pag-Islam/Pag-Sunnat. This study

tackles the politics of meaning making in the context of Pag-Islam/Pag-Sunnat by defining and describing

the power Tausug women hold in making positive or negative meanings for the practice. This study aims

to propose an alternative view on Pag-Islam/Pag-Sunnat as a variant of FGM by asking whether it could

be seen as an activity of empowerment rather than a patriarchal imposition. By analyzing interviews on the

meaning-making process of the practice for Tausug Muslim Mothers in Maharlika Village Taguig City, the

study will attempt to verify the universality or non-universality of Western views on FGM as female

subjugation, and may be able to provide a more inclusive definition of empowerment and a more holistic

understanding of the struggles and stories of non-Western women’s empowerment, and possibly even

resistance, from their own point of view.

Keywords: Feminism, Postcolonial, Female Genital Circumcision

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In the name of God (ALLAH), the merciful, the beneficent I would like to thank the

following people for being my strength and inspiration in writing this paper.

This paper is dedicated to the many subaltern women whose opinions and truths have been

hidden from the light due to their positionality. It is their truths that have been the heart and soul

of this research.

To my Adviser, Professor Jose Mari Lanuza, of whom 3000 thank yous are not enough.

Thank you for being the best thesis adviser anyone could ask for. Thank you for listening and

seeing through my research for what it could be before it was anything more than a weird draft

with bad capitalizations and leaping arguments. Thank you so much for believing in me and for

tirelessly reading all my slowly- produced (unintentionally!!) crammed drafts. Thank you for never

failing to push me and my paper to be in our best version. Thank you for believing and being

faithful to the potential of my paper, I hope I gave it justice. This paper is for you, too. :)

I would also like to thank my Community Development 113 professor, Sir Chester Arcilla

who taught me the value of subjugated knowledge and who’s lectures inspired the frameworks I

used in my thesis.

I would also like to thank Ms. Veronica Gregorio for helping me think of an appropriate

methodology.

I would also like to thank my 199.1 thesis proposal commentator Prof. Laufred, for his

dedication in providing valuable insights for my paper, to my panelists: Mr. Samuel Cabbuag &

Mr. Rossine Fallorina for their critical analysis of my paper which guided me in editing the final

manuscript.

To the people at the Ateneo School of Social Science research conference who were among

the first audiences of my research who provided me with valuable insights, thank you for the kind

and helpful feedback.

To my best friends: Lisa Leslie Lamorena for the support & last-minute proof-reading

(hehe labyu!!!) Charm Eduarte for the motivation and moral support, Athena Ira De Guzman my

forever coffeeshop buddy who never fails to provide technical & (much needed) moral support

and validation of without which I would not have moved because of my crippling anxiety (love u)

Chloe Evangelista & Melissa Tumilba for looking out for me especially in the most hellish parts

of the semester.

To my coffeeshop buddies: Alexa Amorsolo & Regina Decangchon, WE DID IT!!

To my good friends Mr. Alfred Welch Lacbayo for reading my thesis and giving me

valuable comments to prepare me for defense, Mr. Cleon Magayanes for proof-reading my work

& Ms. Patricia Saguiped who generously shared her awesome thesis to me which I used as a

guideline for writing the latter chapters of mine.

To my other friends from UP, Cayetano Science High School, and DLSU who have been

with me through this challenging endeavor, thank you!

To my good friend from debate, Mr. Kyle Dheric Miguel: Thank you for being there for

me since day 1. Thank you for all the valuable insight, critical thoughts, and helpful comments all

of which have found their way to this thesis. This paper would not have been complete without

you. Thank you for being a great support system, best friend, and everything in between.

I would like to express my utmost gratitude to the women from Maharlika Village who

agreed to share their stories to me and have allowed me to have a closer analysis about my

community.

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To my key Informants, thank you for your priceless insights.

To my network and guides in the Community thank you so much

To my Grandmother, Inah, whose networks continue to help me years after she has gone.

Truly, kindness to people never dies.

To my Aunts who are like my second moms: Asmah Hassan & Ruhaylin Asa thank you

for being one of the primary inspirations for me to take up this research because of your dedication

and love for our tausug culture. Thank you for all the assistance, care, prayers, & love as well.

My cousin, Mr. Gong Sabaddin, for his patience and kindness in assisting me in my thesis.

To my brothers Gerhart Rd Paiso for helping me prepare for my defense, Taleb Abulibdeh,

& Miguel Robes for the support

To my beautiful sisters Ms. Sherhannah Paiso ,Mrs. Sherneole (+peanuts! <3) Abulibdeh,

Ms. Sherwina Paiso, Ms. Shermiruz Paiso for listening to all my existential ranting and for all the

validation and belief.

Last and most importantly, to the people without whom it would have been literally

impossible to produce this research, I would love to thank my parents. For being absolutely

everything, a parent should be. Thank you for all the financial, emotional, moral support you gave

me without question. It is your belief in me that pushed me to believe in myself as well. I love both

of you so much.

Most specifically, I would like to thank my mother, adviser, partner in everything, and #1

supporter: Sharifa Rahma S. Paiso, who taught me the very meaning of empowerment.

To my father & bestie, Rodolfo Do Paiso, who never got tired of answering all my hows

& whys as a kid. Thank you for being the living proof that real men raise empowered women.

This paper, is, of course, for you.

Lastly, I dedicate this paper to the brave and proud Tausug men and women who have

inspired me by serving as a reminder that Tausug Muslims do not bow to anyone else but ALLAH,

most especially not the west.

ALHAMDULILLAH! TAKBEER! ALLAH HO AKBAR!

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Chapter 1: Introduction

“I intend to start a revolution for the silent women”

- Huda al- Sharaawi

Background of the study

Female Genital Mutilation/Circumcision (FGM/C) is defined as “The partial or total

removal of the female external genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for cultural or

other non-therapeutic reasons” (World Health Organization, 2008). In 2016, the United Nations

Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) estimates that at least 200 Million women have undergone

FGM/C. Compared to its male counterpart, the (FGM/C) has become less of a medical discussion

than a gendered and political one. Today, the overarching narrative associated with it is an

overwhelmingly negative one; with the United Nations leading the way towards eradicating the

practice. In fact, the abolition of the practice is listed among the Sustainable Development Goals

(SDGs) aimed to be achieved by 2030 (UNICEF, 2016).

This particularly Western viewpoint of FGM/C depicts the practice as a form of male

domination and as a means of controlling women’s bodies. Consistent with this narrative is the

Western media’s thematic portrayal of the practice as a savage primitive culture (Quichocho,

2018). Much of mainstream thought has regarded the practice to be the antithesis to empowerment

in the Western, liberal democratic sense. However, the continued practice of FGM/C continues to

pose an irony to the universalization of these ideals. Some argue that the problem with the current

literature from which this viewpoint is based on is that it does not include in the discussion the

very women it seeks to represent and emancipate.

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Moreover, the universalized narrative homogenized the experiences of all women

regardless of context. Clarence-Smith (2008) explained that experiences of FGM/C in Southeast

Asia are relatively milder than the ones in other parts of the world. This homogenization has

lumped together the more extreme practices such as those in Africa with the milder variants from

Southeast Asia under the same stigma. Lack of literature on Southeast Asian experiences with

FGM/C does not help solve this marginalization in the literature.

Furthermore dominant literature regarding the topic of FGM/C reflects the western feminist

bias which condemns FGM/C as a violation of women's rights and believes that it needs to be

outlawed (Diop, Steward, & Herr, 2017) but rarely touched upon other frameworks that explore

postcolonial viewpoints of the women and cultures of whom actually practice FGM/C especially

those in the south. This study aims to contribute to the conversation by painting nuances among

FGM practices and practitioners and creating spaces for representation for the different groups

who practice FGM for different purposes and motivations.

Classifications of FGM/C

In an inter-agency report published by the World Health Association (WHO), there exists

4 categories of Female Genital Mutilation in the world today. They are classified as follows:

• Type I: Partial or total removal of the clitoris and/or the prepuce (clitoridectomy).

• Type II: Partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without

excision of the labia majora (excision).

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• Type III: Narrowing of the vaginal orifice with creation of a covering seal by

cutting and appositioning the labia minora and/or the labia majora, with or without

excision of the clitoris (infibulation).

• Type IV: All other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical

purposes, for example: pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterization.

However, a weakness of these classifications is that they are based on geographically

limited studies of FGM (they are mostly based on the experiences from Africa and the Middle

East). Moreover, this nomenclature places the practice of FGM in the Philippines under the 4th

category. This is a problem because although in the Philippines, specifically in the Tausug tribe,

the practice is done for non-medical reasons, it involves minimal to no harm. Therefore, the

question becomes: does it still merit the same label of disempowerment? And are there other ways

to look at the Philippine variant of the practice?

In the Philippines, FGM/C, or more commonly known as Pag-Islam/Pag-Sunnat, is

reported to be practiced among various ethnic Muslim groups. However, like most of the Southeast

Asian experience of FGM/C, there remain to be limited studies surrounding it.

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Statement of the Problem

In order to help address the gap in literature dealing with FGM/C and to determine why,

despite the international infamy, the practice continues; this study tackles the politics of meaning-

making in the practice of Pag-Islam/Pag-Sunnat by defining and describing the power Tausug

women hold in ascribing positive or negative meanings to the practice.

Specifically, this study aims to propose an alternative view on female genital mutilation

(FGM) by focusing on Pag-Islam/Pag-Sunnat and asking whether it could be seen as an activity

of empowerment rather than a patriarchal imposition. In line with this, the following questions

were asked:

1. What goes into a Tausug woman’s decision to have her child undergo Pag-Islam/Pag-

Sunnat?

This question seeks to uncover what factors influence a woman’s decision in

letting her daughter undergo Pag-Islam/Pag-Sunnat. Asking this question allows for a

closer analysis of the internal and external factors that may play in the mother’s

decision such as family, culture, tradition, the community, religion, among others.

2. What do women in the community know about the procedure?

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This question seeks to provide answers for a basic foundational

understanding of the practice and the knowledge that the women in the community

know about what Pag-Islam/Pag-Sunnat is. Questions such as: where they garner

knowledge of the practice from, what their experiences of the practice (before and

during) are, and what different meanings they assign to the practice, were asked.

Asking women about their knowledge of the procedure not only contributes

to the limited literature on FGM in the Philippines, but it also allows them to

emancipate from the idea that they are simply misinformed, passive actors and

gives them a platform to show the process of rational decision making that is

involved in making decisions regarding FGM. Most importantly, asking women

about their first-hand experience gives us the ability to investigate the lived

experiences and the meaning-making process that goes into their perspectives on

the practice.

3. How did their experience influence how they view themselves as Tausug Muslim mothers?

This question is an extension of the earlier one (2) but dealt more closely

with the perspectives of Tausug women on empowerment in relation to letting their

daughters undergo Pag-Islam/Pag-Sunnat. This section seeks to trace the internal

or external roots of the positive or negative feelings these women have ascribed to

the practice after having brought their daughter to the panday. Specifically, we want

to know whether the practice was empowering or disempowering to these women.

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In order to properly exhaust the different experiences and meaning-making processes that

revolve around the practice of Pag-Islam/Pag-Sunnat, this qualitative study utilized in-depth

interviews with 10 Tausug Muslim women from Maharlika Village, Taguig who have had at least

1 daughter undergo Pag-Islam/Pag-Sunnat. 2 Pandays or traditional healers from the community

were also interviewed as key informants to tap into their deep level of knowledge of the practice

and the different beliefs surrounding it. The data gathered from these interviews are supplemented

by insights from political autoethnography. Political autoethnography uses the personal

experiences of the researcher as a member of the community to enrich sociological understanding

(Wall, 2008).

Existing literature on Filipino experiences of FGM are all from Mindanao; Muslim FGM

practitioners on the other hand are doubly marginalized with their lack of representation. Thus,

this study tries to address this gap by focusing on Muslim women in other places. The subject of

this study comes from Maharlika Village and its neighboring areas, which is generally a Muslim

neighborhood in Taguig City. The experiences of the women in this village are unique because

they originally came from Jolo, Sulu but migrated in the mid-1970s during the Marcos regime

(Watanabe, 2008). Therefore, its inhabitants are caught between the remnants of a very traditional

past and the pressures of the metropolitan “modernity”. Its implications on the construction of the

meaning of empowerment are that these women are influenced heavily by both “traditional” and

“modern” standards, making their standpoints and dispositions very unique.

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Scope and Limitations

I. Conceptual limitations

This subsection outlines the limitations I set for the research in the planning and

conceptualization stage including the scope and limitations, the unit of analysis, theoretical

considerations, and justifications.

Although variants of FGM/C are reported to be practiced in different Muslim groups in the

Philippines, this study focuses on the experiences of Tausug women. Additionally, although

FGM/C is a practice that happens to the young female, this study uses the mother’s narrative

as the main reference.

This study took place from February until May 2019 in Barangay Maharlika Village and

surrounding areas with significant Muslim Tausug population in Taguig city. It involved

several Muslim Tausug women from the said community and 2 Pandays (traditional faith

healer). In order to answer the main research question of this study, the narratives of the

mothers were the main subject of this study, supplemented by the richer explanations of the

Pandays, and were subjected to an additional level of analysis from the researcher.

Although the daughters who undergo Pag-Islam/Pag-Sunnat would probably also provide

good insights regarding their experiences of the practice, the following outlines why the mother

was chosen to be the main subject of the study:

1. By virtue of their age and experience, adult women are more able to provide rich data

regarding their experiences and perceptions of the practice.

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2. They are the most strategic individuals to use as primary points of reference because

they have occupied both the positions of being once the daughter who underwent it in the

past and being the decision-makers for their own daughters now that they have families.

3. Difficulties might arise if minors are included in this study especially considering that

the researcher is not trained in the field of child psychology.

This study focused on the motivations and perceptions of women regarding the practice

and its role in the political meaning-making of the concept of FGM/C. This research does not

endeavor to prove whether these motivations or perceptions are religiously authentic nor does

this research seek to provide layers of anthropological analysis on the purpose of the practice.

Furthermore, this study does not aim to provide a normative view of the inherent goodness or

badness of FGM. Rather, it simply aims to flesh out the meanings and associations women

have of FGM.

Because the practice is done in private, closed doors, there is no official record containing

the names of women who have undergone the procedure. Moreover, since the practice is only

done to women who are members of the community, there are some information that are only

possible by invoking my membership to the group.

These premises open this research to 3 main limitations:

1. The study relies heavily on the input of the members of the community gathered through

a non-probability sampling method: participant-driven sampling (snowball sampling)

2. Some of the respondents have a proximal relationship to me, the researcher (communal

or kinship)

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3. Since I am a member of the community being studied, the research is also open to the

vulnerabilities of autoethnography as a method. One of these is the inclusion of my

personal introspection in the analysis presented. This limitation, however, is contained

through the process of group result validation wherein 2 other individuals from the

community, 1 man and 1 woman, were invited to help me interpret and verify the results

of the study (presented in chapters 4 and 5). The inclusion of two other individuals allows

for better checks against possible confirmation bias and makes sure that the information

presented in this thesis remains representative of the population. Moreover, the reason why

there is one man involved in the analysis is to avoid gendered confirmation bias in the

result.

As for the “empowerment” resulting in this study, the positive responses and motivations

derived from the women were used as the sole basis for the framework. There was no single

existing framework of empowerment used to qualify the genuineness of the empowerment the

participants detailed. This is mainly due to the lack of existing indigenized frameworks of

empowerment that would fit the context of this study. Finally, this study does not seek to categorize

Tausug Muslim women as either totally empowered or disempowered. Rather, this study simply

seeks to look at the women’s experiences of FGM/C and to inspect it for the applicability of the

western ideas of disempowerment or to possibly expose facets of empowerment with regards to

their specific experience with the practice.

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II. Practical limitations

The following outlines the difficulties I faced as a researcher in the actual conduct of my

study. Although the study was able to extract the necessary narratives and with respect to the

researcher’s full capacities, there remained to be several hindrances that somehow limited the

study from achieving perfect execution.

For one, the set-up of each of the interviews was in an ethnographic interview form

wherein the researcher went to their homes and let the participants choose where to conduct the

interview (rooms, living room, store, front porch, stairs). This was incredibly useful in better

contextualizing the data from the interview, not to mention the informants were relatively more

comfortable because they were in their natural settings. However, this also proved to be difficult

because most of the homes were not completely conducive for interviews. For example, most of

the homes are very humble with not so much structural divisions or that the homes were not large

enough to accommodate me, my translator and all the other individuals in their homes and

sometimes other people would walk in and be curious about the interview so there were also

moments in the interview where the researcher had to make sure that the interviewee remained

focused on the issue. Moreover, some whose houses could not accommodate us, invited me to hold

the interview outside which was equally not conducive.

Moreover, issues faced with respect to the technical problems with the interview audio files

and how some of my informants did not consent to have their voice audio recorded, made me rely

on my fieldnotes which were thankfully sufficiently extensive enough. This data was also counter-

checked and verified with the lady who acted as my translator.

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Significance of the Study

Today, there exists a very limited scholarship that explores FGM/C in the Philippines. The

only two other studies focusing specifically on the Philippines are from Belisario (2009) &

Calsalin (2008) and their contributions are geographically limited, largely either sociological or

medical and do not explore the political aspect of the meanings assigned to the practice. Moreover,

there is little to no available studies that deal with the Tausug version of the practice.

The major contribution of this paper would be the addition of knowledge into an otherwise

academic and ideological barren land due to lack of scholarship consequently shedding a light into

a dark place. This research provides a platform to question the dominant theories of feminism and

liberalism that exist in the status quo. Moreover, it allows for an academic representation of

opinions of historically ignored and oppressed women.

The more practical implications of this study are that it would be able to clarify the reality

that exists in these practices and what they really mean for the women who experience the practice.

This knowledge is important because it could prevent further unfounded stigmatization and

alienation of Tausug women. Moreover, it allows a platform of enlightening individuals to prevent

insensitive or discriminative policies. It also serves as a platform for women to speak up and clarify

issues that concern their own bodies.

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Conceptual Framework

This study is primarily concerned with Tausug women’s knowledge, experiences,

perceptions of Pag-Islam/Pag-Sunnat, agency, and empowerment. Specifically, this study seeks

to map the different factors that motivate an individual woman’s decision to have her daughter

undergo Pag-Islam/Pag-Sunnat and how their perceptions of the practice are formed. In order to

better understand this complex process, we can break it down into three major phases: 1)

socialization of traditional feminine values; 2) experiences; and 3) evaluation.

In each of the blocs are forms of knowledge that the women in this study possess. The

knowledge explored in this study is believed to be both “situated” and “subjugated”. Michel

Foucault (1976) defined “subjugated knowledge” as the knowledge that is deemed unfit, forgotten

and dismissed due to its placement in the hierarchy. In this study, hierarchy pertains to the social,

economic and epistemic disparity at which Tausug Muslim women are at the lesser end of.

Foucault believed in the epistemic potential of these sources of knowledge. Therefore, the task for

social scientists is to unearth these subjugated knowledge of the marginalized and let it compete

for epistemic legitimacy. This is precisely what this study aims to achieve: locate and define the

subjugated knowledge concerning Filipino experiences with female genital mutilation and show

what power this knowledge has.

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Extending Foucault's idea of alternative sources of knowledge, feminist epistemologists

believe that knowledge is locally situated and bodied. Situated knowledge, which is at the center

of feminist epistemology, is the knowledge that is reflective of the particular perspectives of the

subject. It is interested in how gender situates the knowing of the subjects (Anderson, 2019).

Situated knowledge discusses the concept of individuals as situated knowers who are situated in

particular relations with respect to what is known (Anderson, 2019). We can, therefore, understand

that situated knowledge is how different positionalities create different perceptions on a subject

matter. It is important to note, however, that not all situated knowledge is subjugated knowledge.

There are different positionalities, and some reflect privileged standpoints that become the

dominant narratives in society. However, in this study, situated knowledge is subjugated

knowledge because of the multiple levels of marginalization that the women in the study

experience.

To better grasp the positionality of these women and to understand the situatedness

of the knowledge they possess, it is necessary to unpack the multiple burdens of a Tausug Muslim

mother in the Philippines. These women experience 3 levels of exclusion namely: 1) being a

woman in a patriarchal society, 2) being a Muslim in a dominantly Catholic country, 3) being part

of an indigenous group of people within the Muslim minority (Tausug). Belonging in these three

categories then entail 3 levels of marginalization namely: 1) social 2) political 3) economic. Social

marginalization is mainly due to two things: history and Islamophobia.

Historically, Filipino Muslims lived in Mindanao, an island that for the most part, remained

separated from the rest of the Philippines because colonizers (both Spain and the US) had difficulty

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pacifying them. This led to difficulty in integration after the colonizers had left (Agoncillo, 1990).

The Tausug Filipino Muslim group has endured multiple oppressions both from colonizers and

even from other Filipinos. They have been at the receiving end of massacres such as the massacre

of Bud Dajo by the Americans and the Jabidah Massacre in Corregidor (Watanabe, 2002). They

have also received various forms of microaggressions in recent times, mainly due to Islamophobia.

Islamophobia intensified in 2001 after US president George W. Bush declared the war on terror

which associated Muslims with terrorism (Noor, 2006)

Social exclusion is somehow associated with the economic exclusion that Filipino

Muslims also experience. Because of the alienation and an unfriendly social atmosphere for

Muslim Filipinos, there have not been many economic opportunities accessible to them (Takumi,

2017). For instance, there are incidents where Muslims report discrimination from employment

opportunities because they have “Muslim names” or dress differently (Commission on Human

Rights (CHR) Philippines, 2013)

Lastly, most Filipino Muslims face political exclusion as well. This happens

because of the scarcity of representation of this in policy-making platforms. There are very few

avenues where Tausug Muslims can participate in political and social debates (Pandya & Laipson,

2009). They are systematically excluded from discussions, forums, and other platforms they can

voice out their plights.

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It is therefore not surprising that these individuals experience not only socio-

political and economic subjugation but also the subjugation of the truths and knowledge that they

possess. We can call this, epistemic exclusion.

We now turn to the three major points of analysis: socialization of traditional feminine

values, experiences, and evaluation. The first is “socialization of traditional feminine values”.

Throughout their lives, Tausug Muslim women have been socialized by their family, community

(friends, neighbors, etc.), and religious institutions to form and pass down the concept of traditional

femininity which includes the values and beliefs they hold about the practice of Pag-Islam/Pag-

Sunnat. The women, in turn, use this information in order to decide whether or not they ought to

have their daughters undergo the procedure.

The second is the experiences, which primarily deal with the decision-making process and

the lived experiences of these women in relation to their exposure to the practice. The decisions

involved here are either intrinsically or extrinsically motivated. Intrinsically motivated actions are

those actions done for the inherent satisfaction that these acts bring to the person whilst

extrinsically motivated actions are those done instrumentally in order to reach a different but

contingent outcome (Legault L. , 2016).

Because the practice is said to be associated with religion, there needs to be a discussion

on how religion relates to these forms of motivations. According to psychological research

(Allport, 1950) an intrinsically oriented person views religion as one of the most important

elements of their life and allows religion to be the center of their life's meaning and purpose. They

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view religion to be an end and the beliefs and values are taken without reservation. While the

extrinsically oriented individual considers religion in a more utilitarian perspective which allows

the individual to attain non-religious ends. Intrinsically oriented persons would internalize values

such as humility, compassion, love of neighbors without reservation whilst extrinsically oriented

individuals’ views religion as a tool to attain things like social standing, self-justification,

distraction, and social support and views religion in a shallow level (Allport, 1950 as cited in

Neyrinck, Lens, and Vansteenkiste, 2005). Though arguably the line between intrinsic and

extrinsic motivations are not always clear, for the purposes of this study, we may approximate

intrinsically motivated decisions as being those that are deeply personal, have close relations to

the individual woman's identity (as a Tausug, as a Muslim, or both), or deal with their spirituality.

Externally motivated decisions, then, are those that are a product of influences coming from

outside the individual such as familial relations (family role expectations,), community values,

standards, etc. and other factors that might influence the individual to perform actions that do they

might not have wanted to do otherwise. After considering these factors, the woman who chooses

to have their children undergo the procedure then garner new knowledge about the practice through

experiencing bringing their daughters to the Panday.

The last phase is the evaluation. After experiencing bringing their children to the Panday,

the mothers then form new perspectives about the practice. These new perspectives could be either

positive or negative depending on their personal evaluation of their experiences. After the process,

these women also have new, fresher and more grounded perspectives on the procedure. We want

to look into whether or not they find the practice empowering or not and why, based on these

newer perspectives. The “empowerment” here is not the strict and objective empowerment we

23

have been accustomed to, instead, the term is loosely applied to positive feelings that the women

attribute to the practice. This is because this is the primary stage of unearthing indigenous views

on empowerment and it is counterintuitive to just apply the Western model of empowerment on

them in an indexical manner. Instead, this study tries to move up from the grassroots level and

create a bottom-up definition of empowerment, at least in the context of Pag-Islam/Pag-Sunnat.

The last phase is particularly important in answering the research question of this study.

By asking these women their perceptions on the practice after they have lived through having their

daughter undergo it, we have critical information that will determine if it was actually an

empowering decision for them. This part is where we ask women how they found the practice.

Specifically, did they find it empowering? If yes, where is the empowerment coming from? Is it

internally rooted (self-fulfillment, identity, spirituality) or externally rooted (familial relations/

Community dimensions: finally, being able to make decisions)? From there we may be able to

depict an underlooked brand of subjugated knowledge on FGM, which can, in turn, update,

complement, or oppose the Western claim that the practice is disempowering to women.

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Theoretical Framework

The main theoretical framework employed in this study is constructivism whilst borrowing

concepts from theories also under constructivism, namely feminist postmodernism and

Foucauldian epistemic framework. Constructivism views knowledge as individually constructed

through the interaction of their pre-existing beliefs and the ideas, events, and activities which they

encounter (Ültanır, 2012). Constructivism affords people in the margins, in this case, Tausug

Muslim women, the power to define their own experiences. This study will be incorporating the

concept of situated knowledge to show how subaltern women construct their meanings which may

not necessarily reflect the traditional western constructed meanings of FGM.

In this study, the framework of constructivism plays an extremely important role because

there are several concepts whose truth and universality, we now question. For one, we question

the universality of the concept of harmful practices; another is the universality of forms of

“empowerment”. We apply this in the study because we question why some concepts and practices

that exist have been either generally considered to be universal and readily accepted while some

are easily dismissed as primitive and harmful. We investigate the different power structures that

create and spread these truths – why they hold more validity than others – as we try to unearth

more subjugated knowledge to compare it with.

To complement the emphasis on the importance of unearthing the meaning-making

processes of these women, it is important to use Michel Foucault’s framework on epistemology.

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The Foucauldian approach is important in this study because it stresses the implications of power

dynamics in how knowledge is legitimized. Foucault stated that:

“Knowledge linked to power, not only assumes the authority of 'the truth' but has

the power to make itself true. All knowledge, once applied in the real world, has effects,

and in that sense at least, 'becomes true.' Knowledge, once used to regulate the conduct of

others, entails constraint, regulation and the disciplining of practice. Thus, 'there is no

power relation without the correlative constitution of a field of knowledge, nor any

knowledge that does not presuppose and constitute at the same time, power relations”

(Foucault, 1977)

We also use this to understand his concept of subjugated knowledge. In the battle for

epistemic legitimacy, some forms of knowledge come on top to become dominant while some are

displaced and become subjugated (Medina, 2011). Subjugated knowledge then, for Foucault, are

the forms of experiencing and remembering that are pushed to the margins and rendered

unqualified and unworthy of epistemic respect by prevailing hegemonic discourses (p.12).

Lastly, we borrow concepts from postmodern feminism. Wolf (2007) defined postmodern

feminism as “a body of scholarship that questions and rejects traditional essentialist practices, as

established in and by modernity.” Summarizing Andersen (2017), Feminist postmodernism seeks

to expose and to provide an alternative to the exclusionary characteristic of essentialist feminist

discourse, i.e. discourse that uses a privileged standpoint that allows white middle-class

heterosexual women to assume authority while excluding women who do not conform to their

26

theorized "true woman" or classifying them as inferior. The alternative view that feminist

postmodernism advocates for is one that presents epistemic situations as having a plurality of

perspectives. This study intends to contribute to such plurality and intends to include in this

plurality the voice of the subaltern woman, to redefine their culture’s practices using their own

knowledge and experiences.

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Chapter 2: Review of Related Literature

“Seeking knowledge is incumbent upon every Muslim, male or female”

- Prophet Muhammad”

History and Evolution of FGM

The History of Female Genital Mutilation has as many variations as the different opinions

people have on it. The term is understood to mean any of the wide range of practices done for non-

medical often cultural reasons involving partial or complete removal of the external genitalia or

damaging it (KG, 2016). Its origins are not clear but are theorized to have come from ancient

Egypt, or spread across the route of the slave trade, or have come from ancient Rome where it was

practiced in order to prevent unwanted pregnancies (KG, 2016; Llamas, 2017). For a time, FGM

was also used in the west as a cure to masturbation and other socially deviant sexual practices

(Rodriguez, 2008; Llamas, 2017)

In order to reconcile these theories and to arrive at a way to explain the rationale behind

FGM/C most authors use the “Multi-source origin” which supposes that FGM/C spread from

“original cores” but mixed with initiation rites for men and women that have existed before it

(Ross, Strimling, Ericksen, Lindenfors, & Mulder, 2016; Rodriguez, 2008)

Though most literature agrees that the exact origin of FGM remains to be unknown, Llamas

(2017) tried to trace the history of FGM and the rationale for its practice in the past. The major

theories on its purpose enumerate firstly that it serves the purpose of virginity, purity and sexual

restraint which are values considered in the eligibility of women to marry. Secondly, that even in

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cases where premarital sex is accepted in society, FGM signifies a woman's right of passage to

adulthood; and lastly, it is done to protect women's health and their future children.

However, some western scholars such as Armstrong (1991) and Winter (1994) claimed

that some women choose to circumcise their daughters out of spite. They explain that some women

do it because they themselves had to go through the “same painful fate”.

FGM/C in the Philippines

Literature about FGM/C in the Philippines is very scarce. In fact, the Philippines is not

even reflected in the comprehensive global report of UNICEF. This is problematic because

interested researchers of the Philippine case of FGM will find that the practice here widely varies

from the practice in Africa and the Middle East where the practice is reportedly done more

extremely

Clarence-Smith (2008) explained that the situation in Southeast Asia was quite different

because FGM here was traditionally milder in nature. Though the practice of FGM/C has no real

prescription from the Qur’an (Clarence-Smith, 2008; El Dawla, 1999; Ashenafi 2003), Clarence-

Smith claims that Muslims in Southeast Asia adhere to the Shafi’i school of law which makes the

practice obligatory. They believe that FGM/C marks the entry of the woman/girl into the faith

whether as a child born into the community or an adult converter. The procedure happens either in

closed doors or publicly celebrated. However, this study discussed mostly the experience of only

Indonesia and once again, there was not much mention of the Philippines

Studies about FGM in the Philippines are few and far in between. Calsalin (2008) and

Belisario (2009) discussed different aspects of FGG/C in the Philippines but they shared similar

29

findings. Among the important points discussed in these papers was the distinct form of practice

in the Philippines. According to Clarence-Smith (2008) those who practiced in southeast Asia

performed a milder form compared to how other parts of the world practice it. It was explained

that they practice the “Sunna” Circumcision which means making a small cut/scratch near the

clitoris and removing a tiny amount of tissue but not impairing the female organ.

The Philippine version of FGM is much milder. Belisario (2009) explains that in the

Philippines, some practitioners perform a “quasi-circumcision” called “pag-sunnat”/” Mag

sunnat”. This procedure is done by the Pandita (religious woman) who swabs the girls’ clitoris

with a cotton while whispering verses of the Qur’an. The author mentioned that in fact, the Tausugs

practiced this by having the panday (traditional healer) rub the knife gently over the anterior of the

labia majora and stroking the clitoris 2 or 3 times while praying. Her study concluded that there

were no severe or even minimal indication of physiological deformities or psychological effects

that resulted in these circumcisions.

The other major contribution of Belisario’s paper is that her study that shows the desire of

her respondents to support the continuity of the practice because it is believed to be a critical aspect

of being a Muslim. The role of the religious undertones of this practice is also emphasized by other

actors and is shared by the majority of literature regarding FGM/C.

This claim that the Philippine version of FC (Pag Islam) causes minimal harm is supported

by Calsalin’s work. She explained the process of how Pag Islam actually happens in the Yakan

tribe. As she described how the Yakans did it, she mentioned that they scrape using an unpointed

knife and that they continue it until the labia majora becomes erythematous. It's important to note

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that the author emphasized that ensuring not to make the Labia Majora bleed is obligatory for the

Yakans. Her work also supported Belisario’s data that it caused no mental health risk. Lastly, one

of the most important contributions of Calsalin was that she posed the question that since Pag

Islam is a type of its own and doesn’t really cause the harms traditionally associated with the

extreme forms of FGM/C. Under what category do we then put the Philippine experience of FGM

under if at all?

Though pioneering works, the above-mentioned researches are limited to its population

and lacked political analysis of the results. Moreover, both pioneering studies were situated in

Mindanao and reflect the conditions of the Muslims there. That means that there are unexplored

aspects such as the effects of the Muslim diaspora to the way Pag-Islam/Pag-Sunnat is practiced.

Female Genital Mutilation or Female Genital Circumcision?

Presented in the introduction of this research is the dominant nomenclature that people

refer to when talking about FGM/C as prescribed by the World Health Organization and supporting

agencies. However, there has been a growing movement to alter the name because of the prejudice

inherent in the word “Mutilation”. Kratz (1994) provides a more general and less prejudiced

definition of FGM which puts it under the umbrella of numerous and diverse cultural practices

each uniquely embedded in specific institutional and social structures. Moruzzi (2005) justifies her

use of the term’s female circumcision instead of genital mutilation in order to emphasize the

contextualization of the cultural practice. Moreover, she defends this by explaining that not all

forms of circumcision are done against the will of the women and thus cannot be considered

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mutilation. Such movement away from the western interpretation of the practice in order to

accommodate a more nuanced discussion of FGM/C reflects the growing debate on cultural

relativism and universalism.

Cultural Relativism vs. Universalism

The opinions regarding FGM from western liberal feminists have been rather consistent

through the years. The contemporary negative view on FGM began with Fran Hosken in 1976

where she publicized her ideas of shared goals of women who she claims are all united by

patriarchy. Her opinions were shared and refined with the addition of input from other

contemporary western feminists which created and supports the narrative that practices like FGM

are "cruel", "barbaric", and is a form of torture while characterizing communities that practice it

as cruel, ignorant or helpless (Wade, 2009).

Sharing this view is Monagan (2010) who argues that FGM is a manifestation of the

invisible hand of patriarchy. She stresses that practices like these are carried out for the benefit of

men and that it serves to privilege males in a bigger patriarchal system. Kg (2016) explained some

of the main arguments that Universalists try to push for. Universalism believes that human rights

are universal and tightly attached with every individual without regards to sex, color, language,

culture, religion, ethnicity and other status (Kg, 2016). Among the enumerated arguments for

Universalism against FGM/C is that it is a manifestation of gender inequality because it is

reflective of women’s inferiority (Abusharaf, n.d. as cited in Kg, 2016). The second argument is

32

that it is practiced for lowering a woman’s sexual desires which makes women vulnerable to male

domination (Platt, n.d. As cited in Kg, 2016). And lastly and arguably the strongest argument found

in Kg’s paper is the argument of Reichert that pre-empted and rebutted the case of cultural

relativists when they say that there is a value in the practice because it is cultural. Reichert says

that we do not support cultural practice when it begins to violate the human right to life liberty and

other fundamental freedoms.

The “rights” the aforementioned study believed FGM/C transgressed were the right to

health, the right of the child, the right to be free from discrimination and the right to be free from

torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. These lines of argumentation are also supported

by the paper by Henriette Dahan Kelev published in 2004 entitled “Cultural Rights or Human

rights: the case of Female Genital Mutilation”.

Alternative views

The overwhelming trend of the literature in the issue of FGM/C has been towards the

championing of “Human rights” and “women’s rights”. However, there is an inherent issue with

these kinds of literature. Firstly, concepts of human rights have been rooted in the liberal culture

that has been relatively homogenous (Kalev, 2004). And secondly, the very institution of the

United nation which sets up these human rights has liberal origins and biases. Thought the counter-

narrative to the strong trend of liberal values come rarely, there are important pieces of literature

that ought to be recognized.

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According to Kg, the main argumentations for cultural relativism are 1.) There is a notion

that all cultures are equal, and each culture has the freedom to practice it regardless of the

viewpoints from other cultures. 2.) The practice of FGM/C isn’t necessarily a practice made to

carry out male domination.

One of the most important literature that doesn’t take the traditional standpoint is that of

Wairumi Ngaruiya Njambi (2001) entitled “Colonizing bodies: A feminist science studies critique

of anti-FGM discourse”. It highlights the idea that our bodies and sexuality are not universal and

naturally given and that it could be a product of our cultural imagination.

Feminism

The existing debate on FGM/C has unsurprisingly entered the realm of Feminism. Apart

from the theories presented in the introduction, a brief discussion on the points raised by people

who profess to be part of the movement is necessary. The feminist movement has gone a long way.

Beginning from the first wave of The suffragettes fighting for equality and the right to vote, to the

second wave that discusses that the personal is political, to the third wave that discusses choice,

what has been termed as choice feminism (Krolokke & Sorenson, 2005). In this vibrant timeline,

issues on FGM/C has found itself being the point of discussion in more ways than one.

In terms of the overall western depiction of FGM, there is no shortage of literature that

universally detests the practice of FGM/C (Moruzzi, 2005). In that literature, often termed “Anti-

FGM” discourse, the common reasons stated for FGM/C is men’s desire to control or to suppress

women, their sexuality, and their bodies (Njambi, 2001).

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Anti-FGM Discourse

As pointed out in the previous section, new perspectives on the practice began to rise.

Several authors criticized the discourse that transpired believing it had imperialist undertones.

Njambi (2001) argues that FGM discourse, characterized by the way it explains the causes and

consequences of FGM, owes its fundamental assertions to the colonialist characterization of third

world people. The western idea of the woman of the third world is that she is marginalized,

domestic, poor, religious, illiterate, victim of masculine control, oppressed by traditional cultures,

a single homogenous group and is powerless and vulnerable (Mangan, 2019) Moruzzi (2014)

likened the presentation to how the politics of rescue shaped the attitudes towards the Indian

practice of Sati and how this justified the British colonial project as the rescue of Indian women.

Both studies show the importance of looking at the issue of FGM more than just a dichotomy

between barbarism and cultural imperialism but also an invitation to re-imagine the concept of

choice and empowerment itself.

In line with this, it is not surprising that new paradigms and perspectives regarding the

African experience of FGM can be re-imagined in a way that is less vindictive as the one western

feminists have described and explained the practice. This is in line with Indigenous feminism

gaining more traction as a more inclusive and holistic form of feminism for differently situated

women.

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Indigenous Feminism

Indigenous feminism links the issue of gender equality with that of decolonization and

sovereignty of indigenous people. This theory, though closely related to the feminist theory, rejects

the threads of oppression and exploitation that come with western feminism which they believe is

actually also a colonizing force that forgets the nuances and positionalities of different women

(Fisher, 2015). In relation to FGM/C, recent works have sprung up that uses African feminism as

a framework to understand FGM/C rather than Western feminism. African feminism differs from

the later since the movement formed due to women’s resistance to colonialism, imperialism and

western hegemony (Diop, Steward, & Herr, 2017). Unfortunately, such indigenization efforts,

especially in the academe, have not yet been widely applied in the case of Philippine indigenous

women, especially the Tausugs

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Chapter 3: Methodology

“To ignore the subaltern today… is to continue the imperialist project”

- Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak

Research Design

In order to answer the main question of this research, which is to understand the politics of

meaning of FGM/C and empowerment in the context of Tausug women, it is necessary to allow

an exhaustive, in-depth approach that prioritizes the personal insights and narratives of the women

who experience the process first-hand. That is why this study uses a qualitative approach. A

notable strength of the qualitative approach lies in its ability to better understand and explain the

complexities of social and political life by reaching and exposing the underlying values of

individuals and groups (Pierce, 2008).

Locale of study

The chosen locale of this study is Barangay Maharlika and neighboring areas with

significant Tausug Muslim population (Bandara ingid/Sitio Imelda). This site selection was mainly

due to the area’s rich geographic and social history as a Muslim settlement in the metropolitan as

was detailed in chapter 1. Moreover, Watanabe (2008) listed four primary communities where

Muslims from the south immigrated into the city which are: Islamic center, Quiapo, Maharlika

Village, and Salam Mosque compound. Maharlika Village was chosen because it is the area with

the biggest population that has a significant Tausug population.

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Moreover, being that this is the community I was born and raised in, my positionality opens

many doors of access to the culture, people, and other sources of data used in this study. Such

reason also allows me to use autoethnography as a method wherein I can mix etic and emic

perspectives. A more detailed defense of autoethnography as a method will be explained in the

autoethnography section of this chapter.

Method and Instrument

Obtaining and selecting respondents

The first task done after selecting my research locale is selecting my participants. Due to

the constraints stated in the scope and limitations which is the unavailability of an existing record

to use as a basis for systematic sampling for respondents, this research had to rely on respondent-

driven sampling (snowball sampling). Because my mother’s family is among one of the first

settlers in Maharlika village, I looked for that network to tap into to find source persons.

There were two individuals who greatly aided in finding the respondents and in the

subsequent interviews that transpired. Their identities are kept confidential for their privacy. The

first individual was a gentleman who lived in Maharlika village since childhood and had a lot of

networks in the village. He knew all the respondents and directed me to them. The other person

who helped me gather information was a Tausug lady who was born in Jolo, Sulu but migrated to

Maharlika. She also gave some prompts during the interviews and acted as a translator in some of

the interviews when there were deep Tausug words I could not translate to and from Tausug.

38

Both individuals helped me gain access to the participants because they knew them

personally. Moreover, with the help of my source persons and because of my family background,

some of the interviewees were accommodating to the idea of participating in the study. This also

helped me established rapport in the interviews. Additionally, the participants themselves helped

us locate other women who could qualify for participation in the study because they knew them

and directed us accordingly.

The selection criteria for the first group (mothers) were any Tausug Muslim female who

has at least 1 daughter who was circumcised and has been a resident of Maharlika village or

neighboring Muslim areas for at least 1 year. The exclusion criteria were: males, women with no

daughter, non-Tausug, non-Muslims, those who did not live in Maharlika or neighboring areas for

at least 1 year.

The selection criteria for the Key-Informant Interview (KII) group were any individual

who has practiced being a traditional healer (Panday) in Maharlika Village for more than 5 years.

The exclusion criteria were: non-female religious leaders, non-Pandays or those who have

practiced for less than 5 years.

1. Qualitative ethnographic in-depth interviews

The primary qualitative method used in this study is in-depth interviews with the mothers. The

primary subject of this study are the mothers because they are the decision-makers in the practice

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of FGM/C. Moreover, they offer unique positionalities as both the decision makers and the people

who survived the procedure. More explicitly, they have held both mother (some even grandmother)

and daughter positions that are vital points of analysis utilized in this study. Such important

narratives, feelings, and perceptions can only be fully fleshed out using the in-depth interview

method. Additionally, the method of interview is ethnographic interview meaning I went to their

natural environments (their homes, meeting places, workplace) for the interview which allowed

me to take note of other aspects of their lives such as living conditions, family encounters, and

many other nuances to their lives.

First Group: Mothers

A total of 10 mothers chosen through participant-driven sampling were interviewed. 2

women were interviewed on the afternoon of March 23, 2019. Two women were interviewed

on March 24, 2019, and the remaining 6 were interviewed on March 30, 2019.

The interviewees were briefed about the research and asked if they consent to

participate. After receiving a positive response, they were asked to sign a Free, Prior and

Informed Consent form. The interviews were loosely based on a semi-structured question list

and lasted from 20 minutes to 1 hour depending on the level of elaboration the participants

made. Some of the interviews were voice recorded (with permission) whilst those who did not

consent to have their voice recorded had their information written down on a notebook. I took

note not only of their verbal responses to the questions but also the way they delivered them

(verbal and non-verbal cues) along with the different changes in the environment (if there were

any). The questions were read in a mixture of Tausug and Filipino. The researcher was

40

accompanied by an elder Tausug who could translate deep/old Tausug terms into Filipino and

vice versa.

2.Key-Informant Interviews (KII)

The responses from the mothers were supplemented in Key Informant Interview (KII) with

the Pandays. The two Pandays were interviewed on March 30, 2019 in the same manner as the

Mothers. The only difference was the structure of the questions were different and the length of

the interview took longer due to more extensive narratives from the Panday. The Pandays were

important in this study because they provided a more in-depth explanation of the process, purpose

and several other nuances to the practice and the experience.

3. Political Autoethnography

The data gathered through interviews were supplemented by political autoethnography

which allows the researcher as a member of the community to insert her own analysis. Political

ethnography is a two-fold method that one, politicizes the nature of ethnography as something fit

to expose power dynamics that exist in social life and two, provides emphasis into other sites of

political life that focuses on individuals rather than institutions (states or elections) (Wolford,

2007). On the other hand, autoethnography is a research approach that describes and analyzes the

personal experience of an individual in order to understand cultural experience (Ellis, Adams, &

Bochner, 2010). My main methodology, political autoethnography, is a marriage of both political

41

ethnography and autoethnography. Such method allows for a very deep level of analysis that

permits a more holistic view of the phenomenon.

Being of Tausug ancestry, although not having undergone Pag-Islam/Pag-Sunnat myself,

I grew up in a household and community that has valued practices and traditions like Pag-

Islam/Pag-Sunnat. The stories, values, traditions, experiences, and beliefs of the women in this

study are those that are not just close to home but are actually home. Therefore, political

autoethnography not only enriches the discussion but also completes it. The application of political

autoethnography allows for a deeper explanation for the phenomena because the researcher can

provide emic (insider) perspectives and analysis that might be absent from etic (outsider) lenses.

Employing these methods together maximizes the participation of women in the creation

of knowledge with respect to the redefinition of the concept of empowerment. Beginning from me,

the researcher and towards every possible aspect of this research, it is women who are primarily

involved and are considered the authority in the concept being explored.

Political autoethnography allows me to introspect in a manner that is both academically

guided but also socially grounded. This is because my positionality allows me to be in a strategic

position to inquire about the traditional values held by women in the community. Moreover, I can

look into these indigenous perceptions with a political lens to analyze the symbolic and political

values of FGM/C.

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Data Analysis Method

1. Interview notes and Transcription

For those respondents that consented to be recorded, the first 4 interviews were

recorded using one device however, one device proved insufficient due to technical issues.

therefore, the subsequent interviews were recorded using two devices to make way for

backup. For all the interviews, the researcher took extensive notes for each response both

verbal and non-verbal cues were taken note of as well as the settings of the interview.

For the interviews with audio record files, they were all transcribed using the

website otranscibe.com and the important data was coded and analyzed using the theories

stated earlier. Moreover, pertinent responses were tabulated and encoded in an excel file.

These responses were coupled together with the other notes and data gathered from those

interviews with no audio file.

The encoded and tabulated data were the primary tools that helped the researcher

surface the important themes in the study.

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Data validation

After processing the interviews through coding and thematic analysis, I made a list of partial

results from the study. These results, having gone primary stages of analysis by me, were taken

for verification through a group analysis session.

This group analysis session took place on April 11, 2019, and the group was composed of

Three people namely: Myself, 1 man and 1 woman from the community. These two people were

chosen because of their deep level of knowledge of the community and the Tausug culture but

more importantly because they were the same people who assisted me throughout the study -

meaning they also interacted and were exposed to the same information and participants that I

analyzed. The reason why there was 1 man from the community involved is that I would also like

to avoid gendered confirmation bias in this study.

This is how the session occurred: firstly, I prepared the partial results that I gathered through

coding the transcriptions and thematic analysis. Secondly, I presented these partial findings to the

group and I asked for their input on the matter such as how they saw my analysis, did they think it

was complete? did they think it was correct (in line with their own knowledge from the

community)? was there any missing analysis? lastly, their insights about the presented data were

also listed down and discussed. The results that were products of group consensus are presented

in chapter 4. However, it is important to note that there were minimal points of divergence that

occurred during the group discussions.

Why was there a need to verify the data?

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Although this research takes on a constructivist framework, it still desires to reach a middle

ground with some positivist criticisms especially on the part of the researcher's subjectivity. While

recognizing the importance of abstraction and recreation of meaning and the researcher's central

role to that, I would still like to minimize the kind of errors pure personal subjectivity would entail

such as possible confirmation bias. That is why I included two other people from the community

to help me verify if my analysis fulfills its purpose of sharing the community's data. These two

other individuals better allowed for checks against misrepresentation.

Adhering to ethical principles

In order to protect the respondents, the participants of this study from possible harms and to

maintain the ethics throughout the execution of the research, the following safeguards were

observed:

Strict ethical guidelines were followed along with the use of Free Prior Informed Consent

and Informed choice. The FPIC forms were based on the World Health Organization’s informed

consent guideline for qualitative research as well as the Philippines’ National Institute for Health’s

FPIC form in Filipino. After the briefing, the participants were given a chance to decide whether

or not to participate and once they give a positive response, they were made to sign the said FPIC.

All participants were then briefed in the language that they understand best (a mix of

Filipino and Tausug) about the research, the objective of the research and the different methods

being applied. They were informed that their identities will be held confidential and that they

would be assigned pseudonyms once the study report will be made. Moreover, they were also told

that only processed data would be released and that no trace to their names would be made. This

means that the transcript of interviews is only available to me and my professor.

45

They were informed that the study is purely voluntary and that they could say no or

withdraw at any point which they were no longer comfortable. They also had the option to skip

questions they did not feel comfortable answering. The participants were also informed of the

different things that could happen throughout the interview such as possible traumas being brought

up in the duration of the interview.

They were also briefed about the possible benefits for them and their community if they

participate in this study such as: more recognition for their community’s culture and beliefs, and

their contribution to the limited body of knowledge about their culture. Participants were assigned

pseudonyms when their data is presented in this study. All files containing data that are traceable

to the name/identities of the participants are stored in a laptop which only I have access to and is

locked via password.

My autoethnography: How do I fit in this study?

As stated in the introduction chapter, I am both an insider and an outsider in this thesis. An

insider because I belong to the community and share their values and culture, and an outsider

because I did not undergo circumcision myself. I first heard about Pag-Islam/Pag-Sunnat in high

school. I was enrolled at a local Science High school in Taguig city and one of the lessons we read

for the Filipino class was an excerpt on Pag-Islam/Pag-Sunnat. It detailed the circumcision and

rite of passage of women in Muslim tribes in the Philippines.

As I read it, my initial reaction was: “this must be mistaken, I do not recall ever having

been circumcised nor that such a rite existed in my tribe”. My confusion was mixed with a subtle

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hint of embarrassment as a lot of my pubescent classmates were curious to find out whether I have

been circumcised. I had to defend myself that no, I was not circumcised and no, it doesn’t happen

in our tribe (I thought).

Fast forward to when I entered UP and I became enlightened by several liberal feminist

ideas. Gender and emancipation had been one of my favorite topics in college. However, there

were a lot of inconsistencies within myself that I found difficult to resolve. In as much as I liked

how the liberal feminist approach decries patriarchy and conservatism, a large part of me comes

from a very religious and conservative upbringing- a part I was born into and now openly choose.

Moreover, I also grew up having to explain to different people why I wasn’t wearing a veil

over my head even when I claim to be Muslim. This narrative simply begs to state that a large

chunk of my life and probably other women Muslims born into this world of “modernity”, life is

something you find between riding the waves of liberalism but making sure you stay rooted in

your culture’s traditions which you’ve come to love and value. For much of my life, I found that

people had difficulty understanding how I could be a devout Muslim but at the same time

empowered.

Growing up and facing all the different burdens of being a minority, my daily life was ripe

with the need to always defend my beliefs from people who thought that they were illegitimate or

out of place. And even though I was raised in a home that valued and empowered women, believed

in equal rights, and has never made me feel inferior on the basis of my sex, I always had to defend

myself to other people who had this idea that I was somehow oppressed and disempowered.

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This is where my study comes back in the story, my exposure to western liberal frameworks

on feminism and choice in the university made me believe that all forms of FGM/C and variants

of the practice were all uniformly appalling. After a while, I came across a documentary about

Pag-Islam/Pag-Sunnat in the Philippines and my interest in the topic peaked when I found out it

was widely practiced in our tribe and community even. I became more interested when I found the

inconsistencies that existed with the literature that said that the practice was disempowering, with

the accounts of the women close to me said. I had to ask myself: “How could something so

negatively demonized by the authorities of feminism in the west, be something women around me

hold and value so preciously?”.

This study is the product of my interest in gender and subaltern studies along with my

motivation as a member of the community to help empower the voices of the strong women I’ve

met and interacted with by including them in the epistemic deliberation of meaning-making for

activities that concern them and their bodies. This project is also inspired by the desire to no longer

be in the middle of being an insider and an outsider of my community by being able to acquaint

myself and hopefully the readers about the fascinating complexities of being a Tausug Muslim in

a metropolitan setting.

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Chapter 4: Results & Analysis “Being liberated doesn’t mean copying what came before but finding one’s own way – a way

that is genuine to one’s own generation”

- Jennifer Baumgardner & Amy Richards

Overview

Although each of the interviewees had their own unique experiences as Tausug women,

their answers taken were able to show different points of convergence. These convergences

became relevant themes in the findings which unearthed several insights into the how’s and why's

of the practice of Pag-Islam/Pag-Sunnat in Maharlika Village. This section enumerates and

discusses the said findings.

First group: Tausug Muslim mothers

The first group of respondents comprised of the mothers. The demographic that this study

ended up with is mostly composed of women 30 years old and above. Most of them were born in

Mindanao (Jolo, Zamboanga, or Basilan) and migrated to Maharlika village later in their lives.

Their migration is reportedly due to the limited opportunities and instability that was rampant in

their original settlements.

The major findings for this group of respondents can be classified into four: (1) procedure

(2) purpose (3) outcomes (4) perceptions. The first one is a clear generalization of how Pag-

Islam/Pag-Sunnat is practiced in Maharlika as experienced by these women. The second

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enumerates the different purposes that the practice aims to serve. The outcomes describe how the

women report to having felt before, during, and after the practice. The fourth one details the other

information the women provided that might not be directly related to their experience of the

practice but are related.

Procedure

1. Gathering information about Pag-Islam/Pag-Sunnat/

The beginning of the process of Pag-Islam/Pag-Sunnat can be traced to the mothers’

first encounter with the knowledge of the practice. For most of the women interviewed, their

knowledge supposedly came from their mothers/ grandmothers who then received the

knowledge from their “kaninu-ninuan” or elderly/ancestors. Their knowledge of the practice

is also derived from their own experience as women who also underwent it in their childhood.

Growing up, these women also encountered other actors in their society/community that

possibly also contributed to their perception of the practice. When asked what they heard from

other women who also had their children undergo Pag Islam, the respondents had a uniform

response: “Masaya sila” (they were happy). Even though most of the women described the

decision as being exclusive to them and their husbands, it is also important to note that their

perceptions of their community were reflected in their responses. Some of the women seemed

to have fears of an imagined social reaction if their daughters would not undergo Pag-Sunnat.

2. Finding the Panday

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In order to find a Panday, these women relied mostly on the social networks within the

community such as their family or neighbors. Most of the women interviewed showed a

special fondness or relationship with the Pandays of their daughters. One of them, Eiliyah,

was even the Panday’s assistant. Most of the women were neighbors or lived in the same

immediate vicinity of the Panday.

3. Decision-making

Most of the women described the decision-making to be exclusive to the husband

and wife or parents of the child. When asked who initiated the discussion, the majority

responded that they did. There was an only slight deviation in the case of Fahara, who

explained that it was her in-laws that initiated the discussion, but she happily agreed to it

and Gabriela, whose husband was the one who brought it up. However, all of them report

to having easily agreed to it

4. Preparation

Once the arrangement has been made, the women begin to prepare for their

daughters’ Pag-Sunnat. The preparations vary differently with each woman but most of

them mentioned preparing the following materials: candle, oil, cotton, and white cloth. For

some women, the Pag-Sunnat of their daughters is an event to be celebrated much like the

other baptismal-like celebrations in Islam like the Pag-gunting & pag-haqiqah which are

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events that welcome babies into the Islamic world. That is why, some mentioned that there

needs to be some food and beverages prepared for the Panday and the guests, some even

mentioned having animals like chicken or goat to sacrifice, but that is only for those who

could afford it. It is also important to put aside money to give to the Panday. It’s important

to note that the way that the awarding of monetary funds to the Panday isn't seen as a

transaction and has no fixed rate; the women used the phrase “ bisan pila sin in ihilas mo”

(any amount that you can wholeheartedly give) when describing how much a person

needed to give the panday. Moreover, there were more modest descriptions of the event

from some of the respondents and the KII as well, such as those who could not afford

having a celebration in their house sometimes went to the panday's house to do it there and

cases where the family doesn't have a white cloth to cover the girl so the panday lets them

use her “patajong” or the traditional tube skirt of Tausugs. This signified that the tradition

of Pag-Sunnat was liberally exercised depending on the person’s capability. The mothers

also had to call on a family friend who could hold the child during the Pag-Sunnat. The

rule was apparently anyone who had both a mother and a father.

PagIslam/ Pag-Sunnat proper

According to the narratives of the women, the actual procedure actually happens

very fast. The child is held by the family’s woman friend (as described earlier), and the

panday holds a cloth over the girl however it is only the girl and the panday who can see

what is happening to the girl’s vagina. The panday says a short dua (prayer) as she gently

slides the knife (often covered in cloth) over the labia majora that was earlier applied with

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oil so the knife just slides. The Panday is very careful not to hurt, pierce or prick the child’s

vagina. One Panday, Fahira, demonstrated how she gently swabs the vagina with cotton

after. After the panday has done the procedure, she says to the child that “Islam ka na”

(you are now Islam). And they celebrate after.

There are some important insights we can gather from some of the ways the mothers

explained their experience. Firstly, unlike that of the practice’ counterparts in other sides

of the world where the purpose of the practice is to harm or practically render the part

unable to perform the function of pleasure for the woman, in the Tausug practice, there was

a repeated emphasis on the safety of the practice. This can be seen in how the mothers

repeatedly explain that there is no harm to their daughters and that the instruments used

were blunt or covered in cloth, therefore, it cannot really hurt their daughters. Furthermore,

they feel safe in doing the practice because they have high levels of trust for the Panday

because they believe she is knowledgeable of the practice and because they themselves

experienced it and have no traumatic memory of the practice.

Secondly, they have a concept on the child’s level of rationality (in terms of

handling fear of getting hurt). This could be seen in how, when asked if their children cried,

some women answered that they did not because they explained what the procedure was

for before it happened so that they won’t get scared. Some even had techniques in dealing

with scared children such as calling it play and debriefing their children afterward about

how they are okay and the Panday didn't take anything.

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Lastly, there was also an emphasis on the child’s privacy in the duration of the

procedure. They made sure that only the Panday could see what was happening and the

child was well covered throughout.

Purpose

Reportedly, there are 3 major reasons why Tausug Muslim mothers choose to have

their daughters undergo Pag-Islam/Pag-Sunnat these are:

1. The practice is believed to be the entry point to the Tausug and Muslim identity. the

practice is viewed to be the first rite of passage for Tausug women. Apparently,

undergoing the procedure brings forth imagined labels of identity that these women

want their daughters to have. This is evidenced by an account by Amanah about why

she had her daughter undergo Pag-Islam/Pag-Sunnat, she said:

Pag hindi siya masunnat, hindi sya matawag na muslim. […] kaya

ang alam ko hindi sya matawag na muslim pag hindi siya masunnat

kasi bawal sa Tausug kung hindi masunnat. Yan ang patakaran ng

mga Tausug. (If she doesn’t undergo Pag-Sunnat, she cannot be

called a Muslim. that’s why I know that she cannot be called a

Muslim if she hasn’t undergone Pagsunnat because it's forbidden for

Tausugs to not undergo Pag-Sunnat. That is the rule of the Tausugs.)

Amanah (March 24, 2019) In depth interview

This claim is strengthened when asked what they thought of women who did not

undergo Pag-Islam/Pag-Sunnat to which she replied: “hindi sya mabilang Tausug,

mabilang sya Christian kasi hindi siya nasunat” (She doesn’t count as a Tausug, she

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will be counted as Christian because she did not undergo Pag-Sunnat) (Amanah,

2019).

2. The practice is also believed to be integral to the proper execution of a Muslim

woman’s obligations as a Muslim and overall life as a woman. Some interviewees have

mentioned that the practice is the first thing that should be done in the early stages of a

woman’s life because the practice is a requirement before she can properly practice her

faith. Specifically, Amanah believes that if one has not undergone Pag-Islam/Pag-

Sunnat, she cannot do her 5-time prayer obligation. This might be because Muslims

have a concept of “wudu” before doing their prayers to make sure that the individual is

clean before engaging with prayer. Thus, they have created a link between the practice

of Pag-Islam/Pag-Sunnat and ideals of cleanliness and purity. These might be why;

some interviewees have shown hesitation to even eat food cooked by women who have

not undergone Pag-Islam/Pag-Sunnat. This is evidenced by Amanah’s statement:

Mahalaga talaga yan saamin (pertaining to the practice). Kasi kapag

hindi yan masunnat, alam namin kahit sya magsaing, magluto, hindi namin

yan kakainin. Hindi kami kumakain, madali mapanis”. (That is very

important, because if she did not undergo Pag-Sunnat, we would know even

when she cooks, we would not eat it. We do not eat (since) it spoils easily)

Amanah (March 24, 2019) In depth interview

This could be explained by the other women’s statements connecting the

practice to being “Halal” or clean. In Islam, the dichotomy between what is “halal”

(clean and/or permissible) is emphasized in contrast to those things that are believed to

be “haram” (unclean/ sinful). This just shows that even though there is no possible

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measure for these women to actually know who has or has not undergone Pag-

Islam/Pag-Sunnat, they believe in an imagined effect of what not undergoing Pag-

Islam/Pag-Sunnat does to women. Supporting this is Innaya and her husband’s idea

that a person who has not done Pag-Islam/Pag-Sunnat is a person whose livelihood is

also unclean and therefore the profits cannot be enjoyed.

3. The practice is used to preserve an exclusive Tausug Muslim identity. Drawing from

the ideas from the earlier statement about the primary purpose of Pag-Islam/Pag-

Sunnat being an entry point to Tausug and Muslim identities, this shows that it has a

converse function which is to filter out other identities from co-opting these two

identities. The practice is therefore seen as an avenue for exclusivity of cultural

practice. Moreover, it shows that there is an idea of a zero-sum game of identities. The

zero-sum struggle is what incentivized the women to prioritize making their daughters

undergo Pag-Islam/Pag-Sunnat for them to no longer be at risk of having other

identities. This is evidenced by Baby’s statement:

kaya ko sya pina sunnat indah, bilang muslim, bilang tayo muslim,

kailangan yun sa batas nating mga Tausug. Yun ang Batas nating Tausug.

Di ko lang alam sa iba ha? Yun lang para sa ating Tausug kaya ko sya pina

sunnat para hindi sya maging Christian. Para maalala nya na sya ay sinunat

na at pumasok na sya sa pag ka-Islam. (…) malaking halaga yun Inda eh.

Para sa ating mga Islam, mahalaga ang Mapa sunnat ang anak. Para yun na

rin ang Kaligayahan natin kasi hindi madala ang mga anak natin sa kung

anong mga nakikita nila hindi sila mapunta sa ugaling masama.” (The

reason why I made her undergo Pag-Sunnat, dear, is because as Muslims,

being that we are Muslims, we need it in line with our law as Tausugs. That

is our law as Tausugs. I don't know about the others okay. That is only for

us Tausugs that’s why I let her undergo pag-sunnat so that she does not

become christian. So that she remembers that she has underwent pag-sunnat

and that she has entered being Islam. It’s very important dear, for us Islam

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(Muslims), it's important to have our children undergo pag-sunnat. It has

become our source of happiness too because our children will not be taken

by what they see; they will not have a bad character.)

Baby (March 24, 2019) In depth interview

This statement shows various things: These women feel cultural insecurity in their

community-they have a constant fear of their children being taken away by other possibly

more dominant groups (other religions or other ethnic Muslim groups). This could be

because of their migration history. These women miss the comforts of being in a purely

Tausug Muslim community where they are free to practice their beliefs and traditions.

Moreover, because the identities in their old settlements were dominantly Tausug, there

was not much fear of their identities being taken away there.

Therefore, in contrast to the way that Pag-Islam/Pag-Sunnat is practiced in the rural

south, those that live in the metropolitan face greater pressures to make sure that their

daughters actually go through the procedure. Baby reinforces this idea with another quote:

Yung rason ko, kasi nandito ako, tulad ng dito, nandito ako sa

Manila. Eto sa Manila marami tayo dito Christian, ayoko sila Mapa punta

sa Christian. Kaya pina sunnat ko sila, ayaw ko sila maging Christian. Kasi

ito karamihan sa iba hindi na nagpapasunnat.. (My reason, is because im

here, Like here, I am here in Manila. Here in Manila, a lot of us are

Christians, I do not want them to go to Christianity. That is why I made

them undergo Pag-Sunnat. I do not want them to become Christians.

because here, a lot of others no longer undergo Pag-Sunnat).

Baby (March 24, 2019) In depth interview

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Another possible explanation for the desire for exclusivity is the Tausugs

heightened sense of pride for their identity. This is evidenced by their emphasis on the

practice being “purely” Tausug.

Outcomes

As stated earlier, the dominant response from the women regarding the practice is generally

positive. they all gave positive responses to questions about how they felt after and labeling the

experience as “Happy”. This happiness could be seen as manifested / stems from different things

such as:

1) Fulfilment of duty as a mother

The women believe that it is their duty as mothers to let their children undergo Pag-

Islam/Pag-Sunnat. However, it's important to clarify that whenever they talk about this supposed

“duty” there is no mention of an actual external actor who can impose sanctions upon mothers who

do not let their daughters undergo Pag-Islam/Pag-Sunnat. Rather, it could be noticed that this duty

is more of an internalized idea of their duty to their religion, self, and children. They also feel

happy to be able to continue a practice that has been going on in their family for so long. As Eiliyah

explained:

Syempre, saatin kasi madamdaman ko na ganun ginawa sa akin,

ginawa ng anak ko, masaya na ko kahit konti, nakaraos na rin pagsusunnat”

(Of course, for us I felt that it was what was done to me, what im (also)doing

to my child. I am happy, at least, we were able to do the procedure.)

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Eiliyah (March 30, 2019) In depth

interview

Some of my interviewees were now single mothers/grandmothers who had to

support their families alone. For them, as exemplified in Gabriella’s narrative:

Yun na masaya na rin ako yun ah Alhamdulillah nakaraos din ako

sabi ko natapos ko rin nagawa ko sa mga anak ko kahit sa ganito ako

mahirap nakaraos din ako kasi mabigat talaga pag hindi (I am happy too,

Thank god, I survived too, I told myself I accomplished it too, I was able

to have my daughter undergo it even though I am this poor, I managed too.

because it would be very heavy if I didn’t)

Gabriela (March 30, 2019) In depth interview

Gabriella’s narrative shows us importance of asking the converse of asking what they felt:

what would they have felt if they had not let their daughters undergo the procedure? The results

are again, uniform. All of them express some form of sadness, regret, fear, and emptiness if they

had not let their daughters undergo it. In Diana’s words” Syempre masakit yun kasi tinawag akong

tausug hindi ko magawa sa anak ko kya wajib(duty)sakin pati sa kanila ipa-sunnat” (Of Course, it

would be painful because I am considered Tausug but I cannot do it for my daughter even if it is

my duty much like it is theirs) (Diana, 2019). They also believe that they will be accountable to

god in the afterlife if they know that Pag-Sunnat is a duty and choose not to do it.

2.) Sense of Relief

Most of the women express a feeling of relief after they had successfully let their children

undergo Pag-Islam/Pag-Sunnat. They usually use the word “ALHAMDULILLAH” which means,

“thank god” to explain the feeling of relief that they had felt. This could be traced to their fear of

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their children being taken from them by other tribes/groups, finally being alleviated. In Baby’s

words “masaya, masayang masaya kasi ang naisip ko ALHAMDULILLAH hindi na yung anak ko

madala sa ibang lahi” (Im happy, very happy, because i thought, Thank god, my daughter would

not be taken by the other race) (Baby, 2019).

Perceptions

Throughout the interviews, the women all rejected the notion of coercion and regret of the

practice. When asked if there was a time that they ever struggled with the thought of doing it to

their daughters, the dominant answer was no because they believe there is nothing wrong with the

practice. furthermore, they believe that the practice cannot be done under coercive environments

because they believe that that would ruin the voluntariness of the practice which is a prerequisite.

A lot of the women even sometimes showed signs of being offended when they were asked if they

were coerced.

Other notable data gathered in the study in reference to the interview with Innaya. Though

she agreed to participate and share her knowledge and experiences of Pag-Sunnat/Pag-Islam/Pag-

Sunnat, when the interview began, she tried to answer as much as she could, however, she could

not help but keep referring and asking her husband for more insight and information. This is

because she believes that her husband, who is some sort of Ulama (religious man), has more

knowledge about the practice. Her husband did not dominate the discussion but instead both of

them finished each other’s sentences. The research interprets this as Innaya’s strong belief of the

practice that though she has her own personal understanding of the matter, she believes that her

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husband, as a religious scholar, is better able to relay and give justice to the reasons people do the

practice. After all, the decision is shared by the husband and wife. This supports three ideas in this

study. By cross-checking the existing ideas gained collectively with the other 9 mothers

interviewed, we can use this interaction with Innaya & her husband to support these three ideas:

1. These women have strong belief in the religious authenticity of the practice that is

why, she turns to religious experts as the people who can better explain the

intricacies and rationales of the practice.

2. The guardianship of the child is shared by both parents and the decision, though

mostly introduced by the mother is actually decided by both parents.

3. Tausug men are also supportive of the practice

Other important themes that transpired from the data was that of a concept of “Batas ng

Tausug” (Rule of the Tausugs) recalling Baby’s earlier statement we notice the way she used this

in her narrative. This shows that she has associated the practice with some religious

institutionalized communal law. It’s important to note that Baby is not alone in using this term. In

fact, it was a common reasoning that the women in this study used to justify why they wanted their

children to undergo the practice. Despite the lack of a strict encoded and enforceable version of

this law and even lack of evidence of the proof of its religious authenticity (as evidenced by

Fahima, a panday, saying that she knew that Pag-Sunnat is not in the Quran but believed it to be

an important Tausug tradition), the women were compelled to do this “law”. However, it’s

important to emphasize that the idealized sanctions of breaking this rule was close to non-existent.

This is seen as to how when these women were asked about what happened if other women did

not undergo the procedure, there was no coherent response, moreover, there were significant

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portions of the women who believed there really was not any tangible punishment to non-

compliance. Moreover, they also showed signs of attempts at being considerate of other women

who did not undergo the procedure, often excusing them as lacking the financial capability or

practical know-how that the participants believed were unfair burdens to be placed on the non-

complying women. These findings only show us that the relationship of these women to the

perceived “law” is more personal rather than communally punitive.

Another important idea that came out of the narratives of these women was their idea that the

practice made sure that their children remain protected and empowered to practice her religion.

These mothers believe that by allowing their daughters to undergo this symbolic rite of passage

into an identity that they value, they are equipped with a narrative that they can weaponize to target

those who try to oppress them or hinder them from practicing their religion. Specifically, drawing

from the earlier conclusion that they feel insecure about their community, these women imagine

that someday someone might hinder their daughters from practicing their religion (i.e going to the

Mosque to pray, wearing the hijab, etc.) and they want their daughters to be empowered by the

narrative that they are true-blooded Tausug Muslims who can and should practice their religion

freely because they have underwent this rite of passage.

For the panday set

The following is a summary of the findings from the interviews with the 2 Pandays.

The data gathered from the 2 key informant interviews were like those given by the mothers

but were more detailed accounts about how the procedure is done. A more symbolic meaning to

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the practice was also fleshed out in the interview. This is mainly due to the fact that they are the

sources of the spiritual rationales for the practice in contrast to the women who just request for the

procedure to be done to their daughters. The narratives and opinions of women support the

argument that the act is voluntary for the mothers is also reflected in the narratives of the key

informants. The following are the main themes that transpired from the key informant interviews.

Process

The two Pandays differ in the way that they describe how they execute the

procedure and their preferred age for the child to undergo it. They have different versions of doing

the practice including the number of times that they move the knife over the skin of the girl as well

as the prayers that they utter while they did it. However, the results are often the same and much

of the mothers I interviewed seemed to just need to know that their child underwent it and did not

care so much as to how it was done. This is only with the slight exemption of Amanah who repeats

the procedure when she is not sure if the Panday prayed the proper dua (prayer) that she wanted

for her child or grandkids. Mahira’s preferred age for the girl to undergo is very young although if

balik-islam (convert) can be any age.

Because she believes that the girls to be circumcised should be young so that they are not yet

embarrassed. For Fahima, she believes that she needs to be strict with the tradition that lets children

who are at least 2 years old would undergo the procedure. She believes that such age is the best

because it allows them to already think, understand, and remember what was done to them (Pag-

sunnat) and that they can proudly say that they went through and who did it (as evidence)

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Knowledge, power, and blessings

The point raised in Fahima’s desire to have the girl undergo Pag-Sunnat at an age where

she can already make sense of what’s happening around her and who the panday is so that she can

remember the day of her Pag-Sunnat exemplifies one of the personal gratifications that Pandays

are able to extract from being the ones who do the procedure. For them, being blessed with the

knowledge of how to do the procedure, comes with the responsibility to help other individuals who

need their services. They view their knowledge as a source of duty to the community and to God.

Moreover, it is an avenue to play an important role in the lives of the women. On the individual

level, Fahima believes that the rewards of being able to do the process and to help women enter

Islam is a much more important and valuable reward than any monetary donation she may receive.

Mahira believes that as a person who has knowledge of the practice, it would be a sin not to be

able to help individuals undergo this rite of passage when they ask her for help. Moreover, she

sees this as an opportunity to help people and guide them which comes as a source of blessing.

Furthermore, Mahira believes that her role in the lives of these women are not limited to their life

in this world but also the next. She believes that Pandays act as witness to God for the women that

they did the procedure for. She believes that she will act as a guarantor that the person is a Muslim

when the day of judgement comes.

Spiritual/Communal Reasoning

Although sharing most of the premises and ideas, the two key informants had

different ways of explaining their rationales for the existence and performance of the practice. For

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example, Fahima believes that the practice, though not in the Qur’an is the traditional marking of

entry of an individual into a Tausug Identity. She further explains that this is based from the early

traditions of Tausug leaders. Mahira supports this idea too because she believes that Informant

believes that once a child is born, they are innocent. Once they undergo the procedure, they are

welcomed into a world that they can think and perform different duties of being a Muslim.

However, Mahira had more spiritually guided reasoning. She believes that when she does the

practice, she removes the “Sahaya Bonkus” and leaves the “Sahaya Kudarat”. Mahira noted that

the Sahaya has something to do with the person’s over-all wellbeing. In Tausug, the word

“Sahaya” is closely associated with ideas of brightness and light. This means that the informant

believes that by performing the procedure, she is removing dark elements from the girl’s body and

leaving the good things. The informant believed in the spiritual value of Sahaya and explained

that is has effects on a person’s long-term appeal, life, etc.

Other functionalities: normative views on marriage and morality

The key informants also had an array of other reasons, purposes, and other imagined effects

of the procedure to the long-term life of an individual. An example of this is how Mahira Believes

that the practice allows for the girl to be eligible for marriage someday. She shared that usually the

cotton used in the practice was to be buried somewhere. By doing this, the girl will be believed to

be able to marry someday and not grow old as a spinster.

It is important to note that the value of doing this does not prescribe anything else to the woman

except that she does this superstition. Unlike other practices where the girls are prescribed to

undergo page-turner or be ineligible for marriage at all, this practice is just a superstition with no

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ability to hinder women from getting married [1]. Fahima, on the other hand explores the function

of the practice as a tool for moral guidance. She explains that The practice is seen as a way of

making sure the woman remains morally upright in the standards of a good Muslim woman

(faithful, conservative, non-promiscous) however, contrary to the western idea that it is through

actually removing a part of the vagina or harming it, Fahima emphasizes that good moral values

are achieved by women who undergo Pag-Sunnat because it introduces them into the world of

Islam and all the moral codes that become hindrance to them doing sinful things.

Cleansing and Spirituality

Both key informants argued that the practice is a crucial first step in making sure that the

individual remains clean and by extension, a “halal” person altogether. They share the same line

of reasoning as the mothers indicated in the earlier sections of this chapter. Such similarity is due

to them being one of the spiritual guides in the community who most individuals look up to for

questions on these matters. The only difference with the explanations of these two key informants

were that they were more elaborative. For example, Mahira says that the practice is believed to be

some kind of initial cleansing ritual. She believes that once a person has undergone Pag-Sunnat,

they are cleansed enough, and they are able to perform other cleaning rituals in the future. She

states that Pag-Sunnat involves the removal of the “Haram” elements found in the body. This is

closely related to the Muslim ideals of ( 1) Intertwining daily life with religion. i.e doing dua (short

prayer) before doing small things like getting dressed, eating, leaving the house, cleaning yourself.

And (2) Shows that they are very fixated with hygiene since it has a direct relationship with their

ability to perform with their religious duties.

66

As the interview went on, she emphasized her desire to stay away from women who were

not able to undergo the procedure in a manner that can be likened to how Muslims disdain any

form of association to haram food or activities. She believed that if she accidentally ate something

that was cooked by someone who was not able to undergo the procedure, she might have to explain

it during the day of judgement why she was not careful. This supplements the idea of some of the

mothers who also disliked mixing with women who did not undergo the procedure because they

feared it would cause them to sin.

The idea of cleanliness was also echoed by Fahima; however, it was on a lighter tone. She

believed that the water prepared during the procedure was to be drank by the child for haram

elements to be removed from her body.

Both Pandays express happiness in being able to play a role in the spiritual lives of the

women they “sunnat”. Moreover, they show signs of a heightened sense of moral duty in the

performance of Pag Islam. Both pandays believe that it would be a sin for them not to perform the

duty for those who ask them to do it since they know how to do it.

Both groups: the issue of sex based “discrimination”

Arguably the most important findings of this study is on the idea that transpired from both

groups of participants. Quite contrary to the idea that Pag-Islam is perceived and practiced to be a

sexist tradition, the ideas from the women interviewed directly clashed this. Sexist traditions are

those that mean to oppress and discriminate individuals on the basis of their sex. This seems to be

67

incompatible with Pag-Islam because in the interviews, the most dominant reasoning among

women is that Pag-Islam/Pag-Sunnat is required for them because the practice guarantees their

entry into the Tausug and Muslim community. This “rite of passage” is actually something that is

not exclusive to women because the Pandays and the women often reiterate that the practice is also

applicable to men that’s why they also call the circumcision of their men as “Pag-Islam”.

Summary

The different nuances to the practice espoused by the people in the study shows that

there are many aspects to the practice that sadly goes unnoticed as the Philippine experience

of FGM/C is lumped together with the other types of FGM/C in the world without sufficient

discussion of its own uniqueness.

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Chapter 5: Discussion, Conclusion, Recommendation “A woman must not accept; she must challenge”

- Margaret Sanger

Discussion

This study was set to answer the question of whether the Philippine variant of FGM

particularly the ones practiced by Tausugs in Maharlika Village Taguig city could be seen as an

act of empowerment and choice rather than the imposition of patriarchy. It was initially supposed

to answer this question by mapping the different knowledges and motivations that women have

with respect to the practice and qualify it as either intrinsic or extrinsically motivated.

However, results from chapter 4 show that there are traces of both sources of motivations in the

meanings that the women associate to the practice. Moreover, the way that the individuals in the

study described their feelings for the practice show that there is actually no clear line drawn

between what could be considered intrinsically motivated or extrinsically motivated. This is

evidenced in the way that the women in the study had formed close associations between the

empowerment (in terms of security, well-being, happiness, etc.) of the self and the empowerment

of the community.

Moreover, there are two levels of empowerment that shows itself in this study. The first is

social empowerment wherein they feel a sense of pride in their identity and how they are able to

continue practicing the traditions of the Tausug. The second is individual wherein they feel

personal and spiritual empowerment as a woman and as mothers.

69

With this, the study outlines 5 facets of empowerment that Tausug women are able to

experience because of the practice.

Facets of empowerment

As a mother

1.Fulfillment of their duty

They feel a sense of fulfillment in being able to do their perceived and valued role

as mothers to their children, as mothers in the community, as women in the community,

and as Muslims.

2.Happiness in being able to empower their daughters

Their ability to have their daughter undergo a procedure they and their community

value is seen as a tool to empower their daughters in the face of possible oppression. They

feel happy knowing that through this practice, they have somehow equipped their daughters

with a narrative (that they have underwent Pag-Islam) that empowers them to be able to

practice their religion no matter what circumstance or environment.

3.Happiness in protecting their role in community preservation

They are fulfilled in the knowledge that they are able to maintain and preserve a

culture that has existed from the time of their ancestors. They see themselves as protectors

of a culture that is under attack by forces that seek to subjugate them.

As Pandays

70

1.Fulfillment of their spiritual duty in the practice

The Pandays view this as an avenue to gain spiritual and personal actualization in

the form of being able to successfully perform their duty to god and the community.

2. Happiness in playing a role in the lives of the women in the community

They are fulfilled in the knowledge that they were able to provide assistance to

women who needed them.

Implications to theory

The realities stated above supports the theories raised earlier which are: Postmodern

feminism, Foucauldian epistemology, and Constructivism. The way that individuals are able to

create meanings separate from the supposedly constructed harmfulness of the practice, we are able

to see that these women are not confined into imagining the practice as merely a restriction of their

bodies and have been capable of attributing different levels of meaning and values to the practice.

The way that each woman had different experiences and meanings they relate to the practice and

its purpose shows us that there does is not a single way of interpreting reality that can be considered

as correct but a multitude of realities we can take together to reach the most realistic idea of a

phenomenon.

The way that most of these nuances to the practice of Pag-Islam/Pag-Sunnat/Pag-Sunnat

have been left unexplored preceding this study can be considered a proof of the subjugation of

these knowledges. It can be clearly seen from the way that these women describe and attribute

71

positive meanings to the practice that they do not conform to the same way the majority conceive

of the ideas of empowerment and disempowerment. However, for so long their ability to define

and construct meanings of empowerment have been simply dismissed & ignored due to their

positionalities.

Lastly, this study confirms the ideas of postmodern feminism because it is clear that the

unique positionalities of these women have allowed them a different ability to construct

empowerment. Despite other positionalities of women who believe that meanings of

empowerment are one way or the other, it is clear that for this study, the situatedness of these

women have positioned them to experience and create their own meanings to the practice. This is

not to say that FGM/C can now be universally categorized as good, harmless, or empowering, but

rather, it shows that for this specific practice, the women who experience and choose it do so

because it provides them different levels of fulfilment.

RRL implications

Several points in the results of the study either confirm or refute several ideas that exist in

the literature surrounding FGM/C/ this is because the experience of FGM/C in the Philippines is

radically different from the ones that have been reference of western criticism. The reasons might

seem similar at first glance however, at closer analysis, the reasons espoused by the women as

evidenced in chapter 4 are very different.

Western vs. Tausug

The ff. summarizes the critical difference between the existing characteristics associated with

African FGM (Diop, Steward, & Herr, 2017) that has formed the western Feminist ideals and the

results of this study.

72

FGM guarantees virginity and marriageability

The idea behind anti-FGM discourse targeting the notion of FGM is because it views the

process as forcibly imposing FGM on women, despite physical harms, in order to preserve

virginity through infibulation wherein the vagina is sewn closed.

contrasting it with the Tausug experience however it could be seen that the association between

Pag-Sunnat and marriageability was present in the Tausug practice although it’s important to note

that it is due to a very different reason.

This differs greatly with the practice in Tausug tribes for the ff. reasons:

1) Although in the interviews, there was a mention of Pag-Sunnat being able to help

with a woman’s marriageability, this was mainly a superstition involving no harm. The

actual practice where this is said to be achieved is how the panday takes the cotton she

swabbed the girl’s clitoris with while doing prayers and burying it in the ground. Such

actions were believed to help with future marriageability.

2) Though there were some moral prescriptions as to how it was believed to help avoid

“bad” behaviors such as going out too much, or being promiscuous, there was no mention

of the word virginity at all in the interview.

FGM guarantees male sexual pleasure

This is believed to be because men prefer tight vaginas and that was achievable through

infibulation. In the Tausug context, there was no mention of this whatsoever in any of the

73

interviews. Moreover, this rationale proves almost impossible given that in the Tausug practice,

nothing is actually removed or sewn.

FGM guarantees women’s loyalty and fidelity

This is also believed to be due to FGM lessens sexual desire and the removal of the clitoris

requires less supervision for the males over their wives and daughters. Again, this idea is almost

impossible to apply in the context of Tausug FGM where the clitoris is not removed. And the

practice is done only ceremoniously

These main points, along with the more detailed results in chapter 4, supports the idea from

Belisario (2009) & Calsalin (2008) that the Philippine experience of FGM/C is very different and

is actually done in a much milder way.

Conclusion

As stated earlier, there are empowering facets of Philippine Pag-Sunnat that shows itself

in this study. We can therefore conclude that for the Tausug women who participated in this study,

the lines between the personal and the communal is blurred. This is mainly due to Tausug

community empowerment is also seen and felt as individual empowerment. Possible reasons as to

why despite radical differences in motivations and functions remain unreflected and unrecognized

by dominant literature is due to the western emphasis on individuality and liberty that does not fit

the communal and group-oriented people of the south.

74

Recommendations

Because this research was able to garner inputs mainly from women ages 30 years and

above, it is highly recommended that future researchers use a population that includes women

from younger age groups in order to compare any changes in the perception and experiences

of women through different generations. It is also recommended that future researchers

investigate different factors such as age, educational attainment, etc. in order to analyze

whether these factors affect the way women view the practice.

Lastly, this study would like to recommend that we, as a society, be wary of the labels that

we fit individuals into, especially whenever we attempt to universalize these labels. It is

imperative that these labels, narratives, and stigmas be scrutinized on what latent power they

perpetuate and whether they unfoundedly alienate individuals.

[1] Except in cases where the husband marries a convert and they arrange for her to undergo Pag-

Sunnat to be considered a part of the tribe/religion. However, the intention is more concerned with

the identity than actually prescribing behavior.

75

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APPENDIX

A. INFORMED CONSENT FORM

Asalamualaykum!

Ako si Sherminaylah S. Paiso, isang magaaral mula sa Unibersidad ng Pilipinas- Maynila,

kumukuha ng programang Batsiler ng arts sa Agham Pampulitika Inaanyayahan ko po kayong

makilahok sa aking pag-aaral na “Indigenous empowerment of Tausug women in the practice of

agency and choice on female circumcision” na naglalayong alamin ang mga karanasan ng mga

kababaihang Tausug na ipina-sunnat ang kanilang mga anak.

Ipapaliwanag ko po kung ano po ang pag-aaral, ano po ang inyong magiging papel, at ano po ang

mangyayari sa inyong partisipasyon sa pagaaral. bibigyan po kayo ng pagkakataong pag-isipan

kung sang-ayon po kayo sumali o hindi. Kung mayroon pong hindi malinaw sa aking mga sinasabi

ay maari po lamang ay sabihin nyo po saakin at ipapaliwanag ko pong muli. Ang paglahok nyo sa

aking pag-aaral ay kusa, at hindi sapilitan. Kung papayag kayong sumali, kayo ay hihilinging

pumirma sa kasulatan ng pahintulot na ito.

Ang interbyu ay aabutin ng mahigit kumulang isang oras hanggang isang oras at kalahati.Ang

interbyu po ay gaganapin dito o kung saan man po kayo mas komportable. ang kasama lamang po

sa interbyu ay ako, kayo, at ang kasama kong tagasalin sa Tausug. sa inyong pahintulot, irerecord

po natin ang usapan gamit ang aking rekorder.

wag po kayong mag-alala sapagkat maiingatan po ang mga record ng ating pag-uusap at ang

tanging may acess sa raw data ay ako. pagkatapos ko pong i-transcribe ang ating usapan ay

buburahin ko na po ang lahat ng record at transcript ng ating paguusap. ang matitira nalang po ay

ang coded na interpretasyon ng ating usapan o di kaya interpretasyon ng pinagsama samang datos

mula sa iba't ibang nanay.

Possibleng panganib:

Maliit lang po ang tyansa na magkaroon ng panganib sainyo ang pakikilahok sa pagaaral na ito.

Pero possible pong maging emosyonal ang mga usapan sa ating interbyu sapagkat personal na

karanasan po ang aking tatanungin. Possible rin pong ang ating pag-uusap ay makapagpaalala ang

mga hindi magandang alala tungkol sa paksa kung meron man po kayo nito. kung sakali pong

mayroon po kayong masamang karanasan na may kinalaman sa pag-aaral na ito o sa mga bagay

na possibleng mapag-usapan, maari nyo lang pong sabihin saaakin. kung sakali po, sa kahit anong

punto ng ating pag-uusap ay hindi na po kayo kumportable ay pwede po tayong huminto sandali

o di kaya itigil na ang interbyu. Pwede po kayong magbago ng isip sa kahit anong punto ng pag-

aaral sa kahit ano mang kadahilanan.

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Possible rin pong husgahan ng mga makakabasa ng aking ilalathalang pagaaral ang mga tugon ng

mga kababaihan sa aking pag-aaral. Gayunpaman, Pananatilihin naming kompidensyal ang lahat

ng inyong impormasyon sa abot nang aking makakaya. Upang maprotektahan ang inyong

paggiging pribado, ang aking talaan ay gagamit ng isang "Pseudonym" sa halip na ang inyong

totoong pangalan. Tanging ako lamang ang may karapatang tumingin sa salin ng ating pag-uusap.

Ang “pseudonym” na nag-uugnay ng survey number sa inyong pangalan ay nasa ko at nakatago

sa aking personal na kompyuter na ako lamang ang nakakaalam ng password. Ang inyong

pangalan at iba pang detalye na makapagtuturo sa inyo ay hindi ihahayag kapag napag-usapan ang

survey o mailathala ang mga resulta nito. Tanging ang "coded" at nainterpret nang datos ang

ilalathala sa publiko.

Kayo po ay walang gagastusin o babayaran sa paglahok sa survey na ito. wala rin po kayong

matatanggap na bayad sa pakikilahok, wala rin pong direktang benepisyo ang pakikilahok sa

pagaaral na ito ang makukuha ninyo o nang pamilya ninyo. subalit, ang inyong partisipasyon ay

magiging malaking tulong na ambag sa kaalaman na mayroon ang mundo ukol sa mga

katotohanan, kaalaman, perspectibo at damdamin ng mga kababaihang tausug

ukol sa usapan ng pag-papasunnat.

inuulit ko po, Kayo po ay malaya na sumali o hindi sa survey na ito. Kung nagpasya po kayong

sumali sa pananaliksik na ito, kayo po ay malayang magpalit ng isipan kahit anong oras para sa

anumang kadahilanan. Walang parusa para sa pagtanggi ng inyong partisipasyon at maaari mong

tanggihan nang hindi kinakailangang magbigay ng dahilan.

Kung may nais iparating sa mga mananaliksik, komento, tanong o suhestiyon, maaari ninyo itong

maipaabot saakin sa pamamagitan ng aking telepono (0915-5629189) o sa aking email:

sherminaylahspaiso@gmail.com

Maraming salamat!

Sherminaylah S. Paiso

81

INFORMED CONSENT FORM

(Filipino)

Ako si ______________________________. Ako ay boluntaryong pumapayag upang maging

kalahok sa isang pag-aaral na pinamagatang, Indigenous empowerment of Tausug women in the

practice of female agency and choice on Female Circumcision , na naglalayong alamin ang mga

karanasan ng mga kababaihang Tausug na Inang ipinatuli ang kanilang mga anak. Naipaliwanag

sa akin lahat ng impormasyon tungkol sa pag-aaral na ito, at tungkol sa aking pagsali.

Naiintindihan ko na walang kapalit ang aking pagsali sa pag-aaral na ito.

Ako ay naniniwala na ang mananaliksik ay gagawin ang mga wastong hakbang upang panatilihin

ang pagiging pribado ng aking pagkatao at ang pagiging kumpedensyal ng aking mga naging

tugon. Kung sakaling sa pananaw ko ay may mga bahagi ng pag-aaral na hindi angkop at maaaring

ituring na insensitibo, inilalagay ang buhay ko, ng aking pamilya at ng mga tao sa aking komunidad

sa panganib, o kaya naman ay humihingi ng mga tugon na hindi ko maaaring ibigay dahil sa kung

anumang dahilan, ako ay malayang hindi magbigay ng mga tugon o kaya naman ay umatras bilang

kalahok sa pag-aaral na ito. Kung wala man sa nabanggit ang dahilan ng aking hindi pagsagot o

pag-atras, mayroon pa rin akong kalayaan upang hindi tanggapin ang paanyaya ng mananaliksik.

Alam ko maaari pa rin akong umatras bilang kalahok ng pag-aaral na ito at hingin na huwag isama

sa pagsusuri at paglalahad ng mga datos ang aking ibinigay na mga tugon kahit natapos na ang

panayam. Gamit ang mga contact detail na ibinigay ng mananaliksik, maaari kong iparating ang

aking desisyon. Ang aking pagtanggi ay hindi maaaring gamitin laban sa akin at/o upang pilitin

akong gawin ang isang bagay na labag sa aking kalooban.

___________________________________

Pangalan at lagda ng Kalahok

Petsa: ______/_______/______

Buwan Araw Taon

Edad: ___

Telepono:____________

Kung ang kalahok ay hindi marunong magbasa

Kailangang may testigo na lalagda na marunong magbasa (kung possible, itong tao na ito ay

pipiliin ng kalahok at dapat ay wala syang kaugnayan sa kahit sinuman sa grupo ng nananaliksik).

Itong mga magulang ng kalahok ay magbibigay din ng kanyang “thumb print” o imprenta na

kanyang hinlalaki.

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Nasaksihan ko ang pagbasa sa kalahok at tamang pagpapaliwanag ng kasulatan ng pahintulot sa

magulang o tagapangalaga ng kalahok na bata at siya ay nabigyan ng pagkakataong magtanong.

Pinapatunayan ko na ang kalahok ay nagbigay ng kanyang pahintulot na sumali ng kusang-loob.

Pangalan ng Testigo________________________

Lagda ng Testigo __________________________ Petsa:

______/_______/______ Bu

wan Araw Taon Pahayag ng Taong Nagsasagawa ng Pagkuha ng Pahintulot

Aking binasa ng tama ang kasulatan na ito sa potensyal na kalahok. Aking pinagtitibay na siya ay

binigyan ko ng pagkakataon na magtanong tungkol sa pagsusuri at lahat ng kanyang mga tanong

ay aking nasagot sa abot ng aking makakaya. Aking pinagtitibay na ang taong kalahok ay hindi

pinilit na magbigay ng pahintulot at ang kanyang pahintulot ay binigay ng malaya at boluntaryo.

Ang kopya ng Kasulatan ng Pahintulot ay ibinigay sa kalahok.

_________________________________________________ Pangalan ng Taong kumuha ng

pahintulot

__________________________________________________ Lagda ng Taong kumuha ng

pahintulot

______/_______/______ Petsa ng Paglagda (Buwan/Araw/Taon)

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B. INTERVIEW GUIDE QUESTIONS FOR MOTHERS (English version)

Name:

Code:

Respondent number:

Duration of stay:

Place of birth/origin

Number of daughters? Circumcised?

What are the different knowledge women possess about Pag Islam?

Knowledge of the practice

• What is Pagsunnat/Pagislam?

• When did you first hear about Pag-Islam?

• From where or whom did you learn about Pag-Islam?

• Why do you think people still practice Pag-Islam?

What goes into a Tausug woman’s decision to have her child undergo Pag-Islam?

How much power does the woman have in this decision?

o Why did you choose to have your child undergo Pag-Islam?

o How important do you think this procedure is for your daughter?

o In your opinion, was your decision voluntary?

o Were other people included in the discussion or the decision? If yes, who?

o Who first initiated/ Suggested to have your daughter undergo Pag-Islam?

o Do you think you could have said no? If so, what would have happened if you said

no?

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Experience:

o how did you find the panday?

o What thoughts did you have before you went to the panday? What did you expect

would happen?

o What did you hear from other mothers?

o What other thoughts did you have before going (if any)?

o What different preparations did you do?

o What was on your mind as you were on your way to the Panday?

o Can you describe or tell me the story of what happened when you brought your

daughter to the panday to be circumcised?

o How and what did you feel while the panday was doing the procedure on your

daughter? (happy? Scared?)

o At any point while you were there, did you feel any fear?

o At any point did you change your mind. Even a little?

Empowerment

How did their experience influence how they view themselves as Tausug Muslim mothers?

1. Experiences & Perception

How did you feel after your daughter underwent Pag-Islam? (Happy? Sad? Relieved?)

How would you feel if you hadn’t let her?

How do you think this experience affect your role as a mother? Do you feel fulfilled?

How do you think this experience contribute to you and your child’s identity as a Tausug?

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How do you think this experience affected you and your child’s identity as a Muslim? Do

you feel more faithful/pious? why?

Did you ever regret your decision?

Why do you think women still choose to have their children undergo Pag Islam?

Would you want your daughter to continue the tradition with her future daughter? If yes,

why?

What do you think of women who didn’t undergo Pag-Islam?

How do you feel when people say that you were forced to do it?

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C. INTERVIEW GUIDE QUESTIONS FOR THE PANDAY (KEY INFORMANT

INTERVIEW)

Name:

Code:

Respondent number:

Duration of stay:

What are the different knowledge women possess about Pag-Islam?

1.How long have you been a panday?

2.What does being a panday entail? What do you do?

3.Where did you learn the skills necessary for doing Pag-Islam?

4.What is Pag-Islam?

2. Who are suggested to undergo Pag-Islam?

3. Why should women undergo Pag-Islam?

4. Where did you first learn about the practice?

8. What do you receive in return?

9. Can you describe to me the procedure? (Step-by-step)

a. Before

a.i. How did these women know that you can do the procedure? How do you meet them?

a.ii. How do you prepare? What are necessary?

b. During

b.i. Can you describe the process?

b.ii. Where does the procedure take place?

b.iii. Who are usually the members of families present? (The mother only? The father only?

Both? Aunts?)

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b.iv. How long does the procedure take place?

b.v. How do you feel when you’re doing the procedure?

b.vi. What do you do when the child looks scared?

What goes into a Tausug woman’s decision to have her child undergo Pag-Islam?

1. How would you describe the attitude of the mothers who bring their child to you?

(Happy? Sad? Scared? others?)

2. Do you think that the mothers who bring their children to you were forced? If yes, by

what?

3. What would happen if the mother did not want her child to undergo Pag-Islam? Do you

think the child would still have undergone the procedure?

What are the different Factors influencing her decision?

1. How important is the practice of Pag-Islam? in the culture of the Tausug?

2 How important is the practice of Pag-Islam? in the practice of being a Muslim?

3. Are there other reasons why Pag-Islam? is important?

Empowerment

How did their experience influence how they view themselves as Tausug Muslim mothers?

1. On the practice

a. How do you feel after you successfully finish a Pag-Islam??

b. After the procedure, how would you describe the reactions of the mothers? (were they

happy? sad?)

c. What role do you think you played in the lives of these women?

d. How does your profession affect your view of yourself as a Muslim?

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e. How does your profession affect your view of yourself as a Tausug?

2. On empowerment

a. Why should women undergo Pag-Islam??

b. What do you think of women who don’t undergo Pag-Islam??

c. Should the practice continue?

d. How do you feel when people say that women are forced to undergo Pag-Islam??

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D. INITIAL CODING SCHEME (FIRST LEVEL)

Question

Question

key Issue

A Profile

B Definition for Pagsunnat? "Ano po ba ang pagsunnat?"

C Reasons women do it (Generally):

C1 Identity related

C1E Why

C2 Religiously related

C3E Why (Basis)

C3 Hygiene

C3E Basis

D Sources of Knowledge

D1 Ancestry

D2 Personal experience

E

Specific personal reasons why they did it: Bakit nyo po pinili na ipasunnat po yung anak nyo

nung nakita nyo po na yung anak nyo po babae?

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Emp Empowerment

E1 Identity requirement (Muslim/Tausug)

E2 Identity requirement (Female kasi)

E3 Morals

F How did they find the Panday

F1 acquired past services

G Weighing of values

G1 Why is it important for your daughter

G2 Identity

G3 kinship/ continuity

G4 Empowerment

H Decision makers "Sino sino po tumulong sainyo magdesisyon kung ipapasunnat nyo?"

H1 Father

H2 In laws

I Who initiated?

I1 them

I2 Father

I3 In laws

I4 (for those who did not initiate) Did you agree?

J why is it important that they are young?

J1 Temporal aspect

J2 rationality (learns)

K Can they say no?

K1 yes

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K2 no

L Influence

L1 Family: " may papel po ba yung pamilya sa desisyon?"

L1A yes

L1B no

L2 Community: " mahalaga po ba yung kumonidad sa pagdedesisyon nyo?"

L2A yes

L2B no

L2E Reasons

M What is the most important factor?

M1 Identity

M2 Parent Fulfillment

N Value system: Why is it important

N1 as a Muslim

N1E Religious basis

N2 as a tausug

N2E Religious basis

N3 community

N3E Basis

O Experience

O1 who went to who?

O1A mothers went to panday

O1B panday went to mothers

O13 with who?

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P Thoughts before: " bago po kayo pumunta sa panday, ano po nasa isip nyo?

Q What did they hear from other mothers?

Q1 Basis

R Preparation

S Knife

S1 what is it made of?

S2 is it sharp?

S3 whose knife is it?

S4 where did they get this info

T Process proper

T1 What happened

T2 where were you

T3 Who was with the kid

T4 Can you see them? (privacy)

W was the kid crying?

X Responses to crying kid

X1 explain

X2 play

Y Blood/harm

Y1 explanations

Z Prayers

Z1 yes

Z2 no

ZA After

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ZA1 what did the panday say after

ZB EVALUATION

ZB1 Fear: "nakaramdam po ba kayo ng takot"

ZB1E why

ZC Change your mind: " never po ba nagbago ang isip nyo?"

ZC1 yes

ZC2 no

ZCE explanation

ZD Struggled with the thought?

ZD1 yes

ZD2 no

ZDE reason

ZE How did you feel after?

ZE1 Happiness

ZE1E reason

ZF If you had not?

ZF explanation

ZF1 regret

ZF1E why

ZG Nuanced feelings

ZG1 As a mother

ZG1A feelings

ZG1AE why

ZG1B How much did it help with her daughter's being a muslim?

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ZG1BA How much

ZG1BAE why

ZG1C Did it help with her being a tausug?

ZG1CA yes

ZG1CAE why

ZG1D

Did it help them spiritually? to get closer to their God? "napalapit po kayo sa pagkamuslim?

sa pagka islam?"

ZG1D1 yes

ZG1DE why

ZG1(E) Why do women continue it?

ZG1(E)1 fear of area (Skepticism)

ZG1(E)2 tradition

ZG1(E)3 happiness

ZG1(E)4 others

ZG1(E)E reasons

ZG1F Is it voluntary?

ZG1F1 yes

ZG1F2 no

ZG1FE explanation

ZG1G COERCION What can you say to people who say women are being forced?

ZG1F1 no

ZH CONTINUITY