Gambia Parliament keeps 2015 ban on female genital mutilation News
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Gambia Parliament keeps 2015 ban on female genital mutilation

The Parliament of Gambia voted Monday to maintain a 2015 ban on female genital mutilation (FGM) by rejecting a controversial bill which sought to reverse the prohibition and legalize the practice of female circumcision.

The Women’s (Amendment) Bill 2024, introduced in March 2024, aimed to repeal the ban and introduce the option of “consent” for women who wish to undergo FGM as part of their culture or religion. After its first and second reading, there were concerns that the bill would pass, with only five out of 53 MPs voting against it. However, before its third and final reading, MPs voted down the proposed clauses, leading the Speaker of Parliament, Fabakary Tombong Jatta, to reject the Bill. He announced that the majority of MPs had voted against the bill and that it had been “rejected and the legislative process exhausted.”

The bill was initially considered at the end of 2023 following the convictions of three women in the Central River Region who were found guilty of performing FGM on young girls. While organisations such as the UN welcomed the convictions by the Kaur/Kuntaur Magistrates Court, certain religious leaders and MPs sought to repeal the Women’s Act and reverse the ban on FGM.

FGM is the removal or alteration of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs, conducted for non-medical reasons. It is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of women and girls and is banned in over 70 countries. However, myths surrounding FGM still persist, and the practice is prevalent in Gambia. Nearly three-quarters of women and girls aged between 15-49 in the country have undergone FGM, with the majority of those procedures performed on girls before they reach the age of five.

The proposed bill was roundly condemned by human rights organisations, with Human Rights Watch saying that it was “deeply troubling for women’s rights,” and could have undermined “the progress made in protecting girls and women from this harmful practice.”

The decision to block the legislation was met with approval from women’s rights groups worldwide, with the UN issuing a joint statement by the Heads of UN Entities and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk. The UN’s statement said that they “commend the country’s decision to uphold the ban on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), reaffirming its commitments to human rights, gender equality, and protecting the health and well-being of girls and women.”

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