Gambia may again allow female genital mutilation
- March 19, 2024
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(RFI).- The MP who introduced the bill earlier this month enjoys support Supreme Islamic Council of The Gambia. Criticizes the fines imposed on three women who performed ablation
(RFI).- The MP who introduced the bill earlier this month enjoys support Supreme Islamic Council of The Gambia. Criticizes the fines imposed on three women who performed ablation last year. According to him and religious organizations, banning this practice violates the right of Gambians to practice their customs and deeply rooted traditions.
In fact, excision remains a widespread practice in The Gambia, even after it was banned in 2015: 73% of Gambian women aged 15 to 49 years have undergone excision in the country.most of them are under 5 years of age, according to UNICEF data for 2024.
For hundreds of civil society organizations, there is no correlation between excision and religion. They call on the authorities not to succumb to the pressure of rigorist movements.
Such is the case with Anna Njie, President of the Association of Women Lawyers of The Gambia. Attending Monday’s meeting, she said she and her colleagues had argued. “The Great Struggle to Advance the Rights of Women and Girlsso that The Gambia is among the countries that comply with international conventions. And we remain committed to ensuring that this law is not changed.”
A 2015 law criminalizing female genital mutilation stipulated that anyone who practices it would be punished by up to three years in prison and/or a fine of 50,000 dalasi (Gambian currency), about 12,000 Mexican pesos . Life imprisonment may be imposed if the young woman performed ablation, died after the act.
“Years of accusations thrown overboard”
All women’s organizations on the African continent, be it in Mali, Togo, Gambia or Senegal, have expressed their outrage.
network of West African feminist organizationswhose members are meeting these days at the UN headquarters in New York to assess the prospects accelerate the emancipation of women, she is very worried. Wildaf, a pan-African women’s rights network, responded with a statement extending support to Gambian women.
For Oumou Touré, coordinator of FemiLead Mali, it is about “Years of political accusations have been thrown overboard”. Feminist groups fear the move to decriminalize female genital mutilation will spread to the rest of Africa. Excision, although banned in many countries, is still a widespread practice.
Sensitization
According to UNICEF, More than 230 million women worldwide have suffered from sexual harm. 144 million of them are in Africa. The international organization Plan believes that raising awareness of the harmful physical and psychological consequences, together with strengthening the legal framework (even if penalties are low), will help reduce the number of disabled people worldwide. More than 3 million girls and teenagers around the world undergo this procedure every year.
Source: Aristegui Noticias
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