Gambian Parliament rejects bill allowing FGM

Gambian lawmakers have rejected a bill that sought to overturn the 2015 ban on female genital mutilation (FGM).

Parliament Speaker Fabakary Tombong Jatta said that the majority of MPs voted against the bill even before its third and final reading, scheduled for the end of this month.

Human rights groups and the UN urged MPs to block the bill, which was introduced in March after pressure from some Muslim clerics.

The Gambia is among the 10 countries with the highest rates of FGM, with 73% of women and girls aged between 15 and 49 having undergone the procedure.

The bill, presented by Almameh Gibba, was rejected after deputies voted against all proposed clauses.

Ms Jatta said the bill was “rejected and the legislative process exhausted” and therefore could not proceed to third reading.

When it was presented in March, the bill was approved by the majority of deputies, raising the prospect of The Gambia becoming the first country to overturn the ban on this practice.

In the most serious form of the procedure, after removing the sensitive clitoris, the genitals are cut and sewn together so that the woman cannot have or enjoy sex.

The 2015 ban introduced fines and prison sentences of up to three years for perpetrators, and life sentences if a girl died as a result.

FGM is banned in more than 70 countries around the world, but continues to be practiced especially in Muslim-majority countries such as The Gambia.

Human rights lobby ActionAid warned that any move to lift the ban would jeopardize The Gambia’s progress in combating violence against women and girls.

“We, as activists, fought tooth and nail to ban and end FGM/C,” said ActionAid Gambia women’s rights manager, Binta Ceesay.

According to the UN, more than 230 million girls and women around the world have been victims of FGM.