Gambian lawmakers voted on Monday, July 15, to uphold a 2015 ban on female genital mutilation (FGM), rejecting a controversial bill seeking to overturn the law after months of heated debate and international pressure.

The legislators rejected the bill by voting against all the proposed amendments to the 2015 text that would have decriminalized the practice. Rights groups and the United Nations had urged MPs to reject the bill, saying it threatened years of progress and would have seen The Gambia become the first country to overturn a ban on FGM. Table banging could be heard in the packed parliamentary chamber as MPs rejected each of the four clauses.

"The Women's (Amendment) Bill 2024, having gone through the consideration stage with all the clauses voted down, is hereby deemed rejected," the speaker of the National Assembly, Fabakary Tombong Jatta stated. "I rule that the bill is rejected and the legislative process exhausted," he mentioned.

Significance of Upholding the Ban on female genital mutilation

Since March, the bill had been making its way through parliament, causing profound divisions in the Muslim-majority West African country. The text, sponsored by MP Almameh Gibba, claims that "female circumcision" is a deeply ingrained cultural and religious tradition, but anti-FGM activists and international rights organizations argue that it is a detrimental violation against women and girls.
FGM is the partial or complete removal of the female external genitalia or other damage to the female genital organs, which can result in major health problems such as infections, bleeding, infertility, and birthing troubles.

According to UNICEF data for 2024, the Gambia has one of the ten highest rates of FGM, with 73% of women and girls aged 15 to 49 having had the surgery.
The decision to uphold the 2015 ban on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in The Gambia is a significant victory for women and girls, according to Divya Srinivasan from women's rights NGO Equality Now. She told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the decision reflects the country's dedication to upholding gender equality and hopes it will set an example in the immediate region and the whole continent.

female genital mutilation
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Amnesty International also welcomed the decision, with Samira Daoud, Amnesty International Regional Director for West and Central Africa, stating that "In 2015, the adoption of the Women's (Amendment) Act, which criminalizes and sets out punishments for performing, aiding and abetting the practice of FGM, represented a significant milestone in the country's efforts to safeguard girls' and women's rights. It was essential that this progress was protected," she added.

The rights organization emphasized that the government needs to take more action to enforce the law and tackle the underlying causes of the problem in order to change societal attitudes and norms and empower women and girls.

Yahya Jammeh, the former dictator of The Gambia who is now in exile, banned FGM (female genital mutilation) in 2015, stating that it was outdated and not a requirement of Islam. Later that year, the parliament passed the first law specifically prohibiting the practice, with offenders facing a penalty of up to three years in prison. However, despite these measures, FGM has not been completely eliminated in The Gambia, as the first convictions for carrying out the procedure occurred only last year.

These convictions sparked the crisis in the little West African country. After bringing the Women's (Amendment) Bill 2024 to a parliamentary committee in March, Gambian MPs this week supported the committee's conclusions, which called for the prohibition to be retained.
The report from the joint committee on health and gender stated that removing the ban "would expose women and girls to severe health risks and violate their right to physical and mental well-being." It also stated that it had spoken with Islamic authorities who affirmed that the procedure was not required by Islam, which is a typical justification cited by FGM advocates.

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