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CWA # 1360, 31 March 2024
NIAS Africa Studies
The Gambia: The genital cutting and the return of the FGM debate

  Anu Maria Joseph

On 18 March, a bill aiming to decriminalise Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in The Gambia proceeded to the second reading in the parliament. The lawmakers of the country voted 42 to four, advancing the bill. The bill was introduced on 5 March by an independent lawmaker, Almameh Gibba. He argued that the ban on genital cutting violated the rights to “practice their culture and religion” in the Muslim country and that “the bill seeks to uphold religious loyalty and safeguard cultural norms and values.”

On 18 March, on the day of voting, speaking to the Washington Post in front of the national assembly, Jaha Dukureh, a Gambian activist, said: “It is a rollback on women’s rights and bodily autonomy. It is a rollback in terms of telling women what to do with their own bodies. This is all this is. You are denying [us] as women who have been through FGM. You are telling us that what we are saying is a lie.” Dukureh was a victim of the cutting when she was a child and found it out on her wedding night when she was 15. Her younger sister died after the procedure.

Outside the national assembly, women and men held placards that read: “Girls need love, not knives.” Since the introduction of the bill, several popular religious leaders have increased their campaign demanding for revoking FGM. Followers of a popular Muslim cleric, Abdoulie Fatty, are rallying support by chanting: "Female circumcision is my religious belief, Gambia is not for sale."

On 6 March, the UN called The Gambia to withdraw the bill, describing it as "an abhorrent violation of human rights.” UN rights office spokesperson Seif Magango stated: We are alarmed by the tabling of a bill in The Gambian parliament seeking to repeal the Women's Amendment Act of 2015 that prohibits female genital mutilation.”

The female genital mutilation (FGM) debate in The Gambia
UNICEF defines FGM as “the partial or total removal of the female external genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.” The cutting procedure differs among societies that are engaged in FGM. At the extreme level, the clitoris, which is a sensitive part of the female reproductive system, is removed, and the genitals are cut and stitched back to control women’s sexuality. According to a UNICEF report in 2021, 76 per cent of females in the Gambia, aged between 15 and 49, have undergone genital cutting. The report represents a timeline after FGM was banned in 2015. The ban was imposed by former President Yahya Jammeh who claimed that the practice is not required in Islam. Jammeh said that after 21 years of studying the Quran, he realised that cutting is based on “no traditional facts.” He banned the practice as “it endangers the lives of women and girls.” It is carried out by traditional women practitioners supported by the mother of the victim, without sterile equipment. Often, the same equipment is used on multiple victims who are under the age of eight. FGM is an inhumane practice that leads to serious physical and psychological issues including infections, bleeding, infertility, depression, trauma and at times death. 
The ban was met with strong criticism from those who supported it. The narratives on revoking the ban began right after Jammeh was out of power. Under the ban, an individual convicted of performing the cutting faces three years in prison or a fine or both. The latest debate began in August 2023 when three women were convicted for carrying out the cutting, and an Islamic cleric paid the fine, saying that the practice was taught by the prophet Muhammad. Further, they began the campaign to reverse the ban, which led to the bill. 

The excuse of history, traditions, religion and patriarchy on the FGM
Contemporary historians claim the practice began in Egypt during the reign of Pharaohs, to prevent the slaves from unwanted pregnancies. However, over time FGM spread across ethnicities and religions, especially in Africa and the Middle East. A practice that then had no religious backing and has been inherently patriarchal, a deep-rooted inequality characterised by male dominance. However, the justifications differ among societies. Some claim it is an important part of their culture. For some, it is a practice out of fear of being socially stigmatized. For many, it is a religious requirement: especially among Christians, Muslims and Animists. Several Muslim leaders of extreme patriarchial societies claim that women experience more sexuality than men and the Quran includes genital cutting to balance it. At the extreme level, many societies claim that cutting transforms a girl into a woman “marriageable”; a family honour and more sexual pleasure for the husband. It is carried out by traditional women practitioners supported by the mother of the victim, without sterile equipment. Often, the same equipment is used on multiple victims who are under the age of eight. FGM is an inhumane practice that leads to serious physical and psychological issues including infections, bleeding, infertility, depression, trauma and at times death. Most importantly, it is a brutal practice that compromises women’s right to freedom, health, security and physical integrity- an extreme form of discrimination against women.

The global challenge of the FGM
On 8 March, on the occasion of Women’s Day, UNICEF released a report that the number of women across the world who have undergone FGM has increased from 200 million to 230 million in eight years. The majority are from African countries, with more than 144 million cases, followed by 80 million in Asia and six million in the Middle East. FGM is practised in 30 countries across Africa and the Middle East. Only Iraq and Oman in the Middle East have provisions against cutting. It is widely carried out in Africa, although banned in 23 countries. In total, FGM is practised in 90 countries across the world, and only 51 countries have laws against FGM.  In 2017, Sahiyo, an Indian-based non-governmental organization that calls for the eradication of FGM, released a report highlighting the practice in India among the Dawoodi Bohra community, a sub-sect of Shia Muslims in the country. FGM practices among isolated religious societies are an open secret in India, however, the government never officially recognised it and there are no laws against it. 

Conclusion
Undoubtedly, genital cutting is a gross form of discrimination against women and children. It is a brutal practice that compromises women’s right to freedom, health, security and physical integrity- an extreme form of discrimination against women and inhumane. The justification is not mentioned in any of the religious doctrines. 

Two-thirds of the total population in Africa and the Middle East want to end the cutting practice, says UNICEF. Women have the right to ownership of their bodies and it is cruel that there are instances of mothers imposing these beliefs on their daughters. Deep-rooted religious and patriarchal leadership, superstitions and the fear of stigmatization are not easy to cut through. Fundamental rights are compromised under religious beliefs. The genital cutting cannot be justified under any circumstances. The only answer to the FGM is to stop the practice. 

About the author
Anu Maria Joseph is a Research Assistant at NIAS.

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