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Supporters of a bill aimed at decriminalizing female genital mutilation demonstrate as parliament debates the bill in Banjul, Gambia March 18, 2024.
Gambia celebrates upholding its historic FGM ban
Gambia’s Parliament on Monday rejected a bill that sought to overturn the 2015 landmark ban on female genital mutilation – a dangerous practice involving the partial or total removal of female external genitalia.
The bill was brought forward by religious conservatives in March to decriminalize the practice – arguing it is “one of the virtues of Islam” – and was initially met with majority support from MPs.
Debate over the decision has divided the small and largely Muslim West African nation between conservative figures and anti-FGM activists for months. However, women, religious figures, and doctors campaigned fiercely, swaying lawmakers’ opinions to reject the bill on every clause.
Women across Gambia celebrated, but much progress is still needed. Gambia ranks among the top 10 countries of reported FGM practices, as almost three out of every four women from aged 15 to 49 have been subjected to this procedure. And although criminalized by the 2015 ban, the legislation is weak at best – carrying only a three-year sentence and a roughly $740 fine – and has only led to three convictions.
After almost becoming the first nation in the world to overturn such a protection, Gambian women are fighting more than ever for stricter enforcement of the FGM ban to protect their daughters, friends, and themselves.
Supporters of a bill aimed at decriminalizing female genital mutilation demonstrate as parliament debates the bill in Banjul, Gambia March 18, 2024.
Gambia's parliament considers overturning ban on female genital cutting
Gambia’s National Assembly voted Monday to advance a bill repealing the country’s ban on female genital cutting. The vote sent the bill to committee, buying opponents three months before repealing the ban is up for a final vote. If it passes, Gambia will become the first nation to roll back protections against cutting, potentially setting a dangerous precedent for other countries.
Over 75% of women in Gambia experience cutting, which usually involves removing the clitoris and labia minora of girls between the ages of 10 and 15 and often leads to infection and life-threatening complications during childbirth.
The practice was banned in 2015 but only enforced for the first time last year. After three practitioners were fined, influential imams in the Muslim-majority country called to repeal the ban, claiming that cutting is religiously and culturally important.
Anti-cutting campaigners protested outside Parliament during the vote, but only religious leaders and their supporters advocating for the repeal were granted entrance. Out of the 47 lawmakers present, 42 voted to advance the repeal in a parliament with only five women.
Opponents of the bill fear that if the ban is repealed, other laws protecting women and girls, like the ban on child marriage, will be next.
Muslim pilgrims at the centre of the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Mecca during the annual hajj pilgrimage.
Hard Numbers: Mecca open for hajj, Gambian polls, Ukraine’s GDP, taxidermy confiscation
1 million: Saudi authorities will allow 1 million pilgrims to visit Mecca for hajj this summer. Last year, just 60,000 Saudi-based pilgrims were allowed to attend the event because of ongoing pandemic restriction
19: Gambian President Adama Barrow’s party won 19 of 53 contested seats in a parliamentary election on Saturday, stripping the opposition of its majority but falling short of gaining an absolute majority. Barrow has his work cut out for him amid soaring inflation and ongoing reconciliation efforts after decades of human rights violations under former President Yahya Jammeh.
45: As if things aren’t bad enough for the embattled country, the World Bank says Ukraine’s economy will suffer a 45% hit to GDP this year in part because it’s unable to maintain the regular cadence of its exports. Russia’s, meanwhile, will drop by more than 11% as a result of sanctions, the bank says.
1,000: Spanish authorities have seized over 1,000 specimens of taxidermy animals amid a smuggling probe at a warehouse in Valencia. The discovery, worth an estimated $32 million, included lions, leopards, tigers and hundreds of protected species.