GAMBIAN LAWMAKERS UPHOLD BAN ON FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION

Mon 15 July 2024:

Gambian lawmakers have voted to uphold a 2015 ban on female genital mutilation (FGM), rejecting a controversial bill that sought to overturn the law after months of heated debate and international pressure.

The Women’s (Amendment) Bill 2024 aimed to decriminalize female circumcision and had passed a second reading in March with only five out of 53 lawmakers voting against it, causing concerns among rights groups that The Gambia might become the first country to reverse a ban on the practice.

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The bill has deeply divided public opinion in the Muslim-majority West African country. Introduced by MP Almameh Gibba, the bill argued that “female circumcision” is a deep-rooted cultural and religious practice. However, anti-FGM campaigners and international rights groups condemned it as a harmful violation against women and girls.

The landmark 2015 ban on FGM made the practice punishable by up to three years in prison. On Monday, lawmakers voted again on each of the bill’s clauses before a third and final reading scheduled for July 24, with a majority voting against each clause.

National Assembly Speaker Fabakary Tombong Jatta halted the bill’s progression to the final reading, stating, “The [National] Assembly cannot be engaged in such a futile exercise as to allow the bill to proceed to a third reading. The bill is rejected and the legislative process exhausted.”

The packed parliamentary chamber erupted with table banging as MPs rejected each of the four clauses.

The World Health Organization asserts that FGM has no health benefits and can lead to excessive bleeding, shock, psychological problems, and even death. FGM involves the partial or total removal of female external genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs, leading to serious health issues including infections, bleeding, infertility, and complications in childbirth.

The Gambia is among the ten countries with the highest rates of FGM, with 73 percent of women and girls aged 15 to 49 having undergone the procedure, according to 2024 figures from UNICEF. A UN report from March noted that more than 230 million girls and women worldwide are survivors of the practice.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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