Adat, Islam and Female Body: An Ethical Perspective on Mongubingo Tradition in Gorontalo
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62033/iasjol.v4i1.234Keywords:
Mongubingo, Ethics, Customary Practice, Sharia, Female BodyAbstract
Mongubingo tradition or female circumcision practiced by Gorontalo Muslims is largely examined as the part of an ongoing interaction between adat and over women’s body. While the practice has also drawn significant criticism for violating women’s right, the reason why the tradition is sustained remain underexplored. This study analyses the factors shaping its legitimacy and persistence, and its ethical implications for women’s agency, socio-religious authority, and bodily morality. This text-based qualitative study critically deconstructs a discursive corpus of customary documents, religious texts, and scholarly literature to explore how the practice is sustained. Analyzing the data through critical discourse analysis, the finding shows that mongubingo persists through the intersection of customary inheritance, interpretations of Sharia, and social control over the female body. Therefore, ethical literacy, critical religious interpretation, and open dialogue are needed to reposition to redefine spiritual purity without compromising women's fundamental bodily autonomy.
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