Lawmakers in Gambia have decided to maintain the ban on female genital cutting after rejecting a bill that proposed to overturn the prohibition. The proposed change, if passed, would have made Gambia the first country globally to reverse such a ban. The decision to reject the bill came after intense debates in the predominantly Muslim nation with a population of less than 3 million. Lawmakers rejected all clauses of the bill, effectively halting its progress towards a final vote.
Female genital cutting, also known as female genital mutilation, involves the partial or total removal of the external genitalia of girls, often carried out by traditional community practitioners or health workers using tools like razor blades. This practice, prevalent in various parts of Africa, can lead to severe bleeding, death, and complications during childbirth.
Activists and human rights organizations had expressed concerns that lifting the ban in Gambia would undermine years of efforts to combat this age-old practice, typically performed on girls under the age of 5 to uphold notions of sexual purity and control. Supporters of reversing the ban, mainly religious conservatives, argued that the practice was a crucial aspect of Islam.
The decision to maintain the ban brought relief to activists like Absa Samba, a survivor of female genital cutting, who emphasized the importance of continuing the work to eradicate the practice. Despite the ban in place since 2015 – introduced unexpectedly by former leader Yahya Jammeh – enforcement has been weak, with few cases prosecuted, as more than half of women and girls aged 15 to 49 in Gambia have undergone the procedure.
Female genital cutting affects millions of women globally, with around 30 million estimated to have experienced it in the past eight years, primarily in Africa but also in Asia and the Middle East. Over 80 countries worldwide have laws prohibiting or criminalizing the practice, recognizing its detrimental health and psychological effects. The United Nations Population Fund emphasized that no religious doctrine endorses female genital mutilation, highlighting its lack of benefits and numerous associated health risks.