Legislators in Gambia discussed on Monday whether to remove the prohibition on female genital mutilation, which has become more common in recent years despite protests by activists to stop the practice.
Female genital mutilation, or FGM, is punishable by severe fines and jail terms in this small West African country as of 2015.
According to the World Health Organization, there are no health benefits to the procedure, and it can cause severe bleeding, shock, psychological issues, and even death.
The repeal measure was introduced by legislator Almameh Gibba earlier this month. According to Gibba, the restriction infringes on citizens’ rights to practice their culture and religion. The majority of the population in Gambia is Muslim.
The Gambia will be the first nation to lift its prohibition on FGM if the measure is approved.
The speaker of the parliament announced that after debating the bill, the MPs decided 42 to 4 to send it to a parliamentary committee for consideration.
It is likely that the committee would revise the law before returning it to the national assembly for a vote, a process that often takes three months or longer.
FGM IN GROWTH
The United Nations Children’s Fund announced earlier this month that the number of women and girls who have undergone FGM globally has climbed to 230 million from 200 million eight years ago.
According to the report, over 144 million of those women and girls were located in African nations, with over 80 million cases in Asia and over 6 million in the Middle East.
Although it pointed out that more than half of the 92 nations where female genital mutilation is practiced have legislation against it, advocacy group Equality Now claimed that criminalization was a critical step in the fight against female circumcision.
According to U.N. estimates, the prevalence of female genital mutilation in the Gambia has drastically decreased since the practice was outlawed.
According to Caroline Lagat, a program officer at Equality Now, “there is a risk that the advocacy efforts in succeeding nations… would fail or go back” if the law is revoked in the Gambia.
The ban on gambling, which was imposed by the despotic former president Yahya Jammeh, has encountered opposition, especially since President Adama Barrow took office in 2017.
In August of last year, three women were penalized for performing FGM on eight baby girls, making them the first people convicted under the law.
In response to the ruling, the Supreme Islamic Council of Gambia said that female circumcision was one of Islam’s merits.
Parliamentarians have expressed support for and opposition to the bill.
The Gambia’s Jaha Dukureh, an anti-FGM campaigner, expressed confidence that the law would be voted down, but acknowledged that campaigners like hers had a difficult fight ahead of them.
Reversing the ban on FGM, according to Michèle Eken, senior researcher at Amnesty International in Dakar, would set a concerning precedent.
She declared, “It will really be devastating for women’s rights, not just in Gambia but throughout the region.” “What comes next, assuming this passes?”
(Reuters)
