By Yadicon Njie-Eribo, National Chapter Coordinator, FAWE Gambia

In the Gambia 8 out of 10 girls under- go Female Genital Mutilation Cutting (FGM/C), throughout their lives this rite affects them in a myriad of way. They experience a great deal of pain and difficulties from personal fulfilment, reproductive rights and a life time of pain and suffering. Advocates have  been engaging on advocacy since Begin 1995, advocacy to end and discourage FGM/C in the Gambia.

Finally, in 2015, the Government of the Republic of The Gambia passed the Women’s Amendment Act 2015, which prohibits FGM/C. Sections 32A and 32B of the Act criminalizes and set out punishments for performing, procuring, aiding and abetting the practice of FGM/C protecting women and girls.
However, since the passing of the act in 2015 there was one prosecution of a woman from the Upper River Region a Grand the Mother who performed FGM on her Grand Child a baby and the child died in the process though that case was never completed.

Then In 2023 three women from  the Central River Region (CRR) who were performing FGM on ten adolescent  girls were arrested  later convicted and fined D15,000 ($200)  in the Kaur/Kuntaur Magistrate Court.

In 2024 a private member bill was tabled in Parliament seeking to repeal sections 32A and 32B of the Women’s Amendment Act 2015 which relates to banning on FGM in the Gambia siting religious rights of Muslim women.

CSO community concerned  that the gains in the past nine years regarding FGM was being threatened, therefore went immediately to work. Tirelessly the CSO community firstly placed strategies to address the short term of maintaining the ban. With support from our development partners in the Gambia  and under the leadership of TANGO the umbrella organization of CSOs  a Coalition of CSO was formed.

The CSO conducted one on one advocacy targeting Parliamentarians to inform them on the harmful effects of FGM/C on women and girls. Community sensitizations were held in the regions and the municipalities to inform the people of the bill that threatened women and girl’s health, encouraged Doctors and Nurses to come out and tell people of the harms and problems they encounter in the hospitals, the pain and suffering of those girls that lost their lives from bleeding and infections and those women that lost their lives while giving life. Religious Leaders from both Christians and Muslims  communities were also engaged and some joined in our advocacy.

A study tour to Cairo Egypt who has similar culture as The Gambia was conducted for Parliamentarians and CSO members to learn from the Egyptians their experience on why and how they banned FGM/C and criminalize it.

We spoke to any on who listened, men, women and children.  We wrote letters, newspaper articles, got on radio, television, social media, and have weekly coordination meetings without fail all the while still conducted our regular work duties, sleep and rest was not part of our agenda. The moral support of those friends that were on our side who were numerous pushed us through and we were able to get up each morning and keep moving on.

On July 15th 2024 the motion was brought to the floor of the Parliament and the Parliamentarians voted and the motion was defeated by 34 – 17 maintaining the ban on FGM/C in The Gambia. So for now and hopefully for the foreseeable future Gambian girls can be rest assured that they are safe from the knives of the circumcisers  FGM.