Women in Indonesia swear by Madura sticks that help them please their husbands in bed; doctor warns of infection and cancer risks So-called Madura sticks are widely used by Indonesian women who believe they tighten their pelvic floor muscles and thus boost their husband’s s$xual pleasure.
Their ingredients are a mystery, but in a patriarchal society where, as one man says, women are expected to be really good at s$x, they find a ready market.
Sarifah Nurhayati is five months’ pregnant with her second child. Her post-partum plan, she says, includes getting her v$gina “back in good shape to keep my husband happy”.
The 27-year-old, who lives in Depok, in greater Jakarta, plans to use a Tongkat Madura, or Madura sticks – a cigar-shaped product promoted as a s$xual-health aid that erodes gradually in the v$gina – to achieve that goal.
The stick leaves the v$gina drier, tighter, and stronger, she says. Some experts, on the other hand, warn that it could also cause infection.
Sarifah says she slides the stick into her v$gina and leaves it for two to three minutes before taking it out. When finished, “just wash the stick, air dry it, put it back in the box, and you can use it again”, she adds. Sarifah can use one 20 times before replacing it.
“When used regularly, it will make you feel like a virgin again,” she explains, adding that she has been using the tool for four years. Sarifah’s husband, Reno Waldi, sells Madura sticks in his Depok shop.
“An average of seven to eight sticks are sold each day here,” he says. “The prices define the quality of the sticks. The cheaper they are, the easier they break. You don’t want that to happen while using it.” It’s painful for me during s$x, but my husband really likes it, so I’m OK with that. It makes him happy, Uswatun, a former seller of Madura sticks says.
Reno sells various types of traditional herbal medicines, popularly known as jamu, condoms, and Madura sticks in his modest three-meter by four-meter (10ft by 13ft) store on a busy road.
“This is a family-owned business that was started 18 years ago, and we have been selling Tongkat Madura ever since,” the 29-year-old says. “As far as I know, we have never received a single complaint about the sticks.”
Named after Madura, an Indonesian island off the northwest coast of Indonesia’s most populous island, Java, where it first came to prominence, the Tongkat Madura has been around for decades. Judging by a large number of online advertisements, sales of the sticks have boomed across Indonesia in recent years.
There are three large producers and a number of smaller ones. The tool is not government-approved, however, no official sales records
exist, and there have even been complaints of fake products being sold on the internet.
The sticks help women achieve stronger pelvic floor muscles and a tighter v$gina, as well as keeping it dry and eliminating bacteria and infections. Madura sticks cost from US$3 to US$30.
One brand, Jokotole, sells for US$5; inside the box is a hard, slightly rough stick 10 centimeters (4 inches) long, double-wrapped in a thin protective foam sheet and plastic bag.
There is an information sheet in the package but it does not list the ingredients. “I know it doesn’t say what it is made of but I believe everything is natural,” Sarifah says. “I’m not scared [of using it] because we have personally felt the benefits.”
Boyke Dian Nugraha, an Indonesian doctor specializing in obstetrics and gynecology, doubts the Madura stick has any genuine benefits. “There are v$ginal tablets produced by pharmaceutical companies, but they have been clinically or medically tested,” he says. “And this is not the case with these sticks.” Boyke fears the use of Madura sticks may lead to serious health problems, including cervical and v$ginal cancers.
“If produced unhygienically, they may carry HPV viruses, known as the cause of those types of cancers, and also other viruses that trigger the growth of genital warts and herpes,” he explains. “And you’ll never know if the manufacturers also use carcinogenic materials and heavy metals in the mix.”
Contrary to the claims of Tongkat Madura producers, the sticks are more likely to cause women pain if the chemicals dry up the vagin
a’s natural lubricants, he says. The friction of s$x could then be painful.
“I don’t think they will feel comfortable because it irritates the v$gina,” he says. “And irritations may lead to infections.”
A former seller of Madura sticks, Uswatun, says the discomfort is bearable. “It’s painful for me during s$x, but my husband really likes it, so I’m OK with that,” she says. “It makes him happy.”
Mayagustina Andarini from the BPOM, Indonesia’s drugs, and flood control agency, confirms that Madura sticks have not been approved and are therefore illegal.
“There is no valid reference as to what plants are used in the Madura sticks’ concoction. Besides, the application of traditional medicine using intrav$ginal administration is not allowed according to regulations issued by the head of BPOM,” says Mayagustina, who supervises the agency’s department of traditional medicines and health supplements.
The number of Tongkat Madura makers declined to comment on their products’ licensing, but vendor Reno says that sales have nevertheless been stable for many years.
“Indonesia is culturally diverse,” he says. “However, when it comes to s$xuality, there is a tendency for males to have a more dominant role than females.”
It is often men who initiate s$x because women have been taught from a young age to control their desires, he says, and they are e
xpected to serve their husbands well.
“In general, it is considered normal for a man to have premarital s$xual experiences, while women have to stay virginal until they get married,” he adds. “This is what created the perception that wives have to be able to make their husbands happy. And that is the gender construction that exists here [in Indonesia].”
Using a technique called ‘Goyang Madura’ or the Madura motions, which involves a series of rhythmic vaginal clenching (similar to Kegel exercises), the Madurese women’s s$xual abilities are apparently enhanced. What’s more, there exist some Madurese ‘love potions’ that are said to make the women’s private areas beautifully fragrant as well as returning to their original “form”. The ‘Tongkat Madura’ or Madurese stick, is used to achieve the same goal.
All this has meant that on this little island found northeast of Java, the women of Madura are infamous for their s$xual prowess!
