The Gambia bans female genital mutilation
The Gambia has announced it will ban female genital mutilation (FGM)
after the Guardian launched a global campaign to end the practice.
The president, Yahya Jammeh, said last night that the controversial
surgical intervention would be outlawed. He said the ban would come
into effect immediately, though it was not clear when the government
would draft legislation to enforce it.
FGM involves cutting female genitalia – often when girls are young – to
remove their labia and clitoris, which often leads to lifelong health
complications, including bleeding, infections, vaginal pain and
infertility. More than 100 million women worldwide are subjected to the
procedure in Africa and the Middle East.
The practice is widespread in many African countries, including the
Gambia, where 76% of females have been subjected to it, including 56%
of under-14s.
Jaha Dukureh, an anti-FGM activist whose campaign to end the practice
in the country has been supported by the Guardian, spent the past week
meeting cabinet ministers in the Gambia and sent them articles from the
newspaper to inform them about the issue.
“I’m really amazed that the president did this. I didn’t expect this in a
million years. I’m just really proud of my country and I’m really, really
happy,” she told the Guardian. “I think the president cared about the
issue, it was just something that was never brought to his attention.
“The amazing thing is it’s election season. This could cost the president
the election. He put women and girls first, this could negatively affect
him, but this shows he cares more about women than losing people’s
votes.”
Dukureh will return to the Gambia on Tuesday to thank Jammeh for the
ban and to help with drafting the legislation that will enforce it.
The ban is a significant development on an issue that has proved
controversial and divisive in the Gambia, with some arguing that FGM is
permitted in Islam, the major religion in the country.
“The ban is an essential first step towards ending FGM and we commend
President Jammeh on finally announcing it,” said Mary Wandia, the
FGM programme manager at women’s rights campaign group Equality
Now.
“A law must now be enacted and properly implemented to ensure that
every girl at risk is properly protected. The government needs to show
strong commitment and prioritise this issue in a country where three
quarters of women have been affected and reductions in prevalence have
been slow to materialise.”
Though support for FGM is widespread in the Gambia, reports have
shown that public support for the practice has dropped in recent decades
among women across all age groups.
Support for the continuation of the practice is strongest among the
country’s richest women and varies dramatically in different ethnic
communities, with 84% of Mandinka women supporting the continuation
of FGM compared with 12% of Wolof women
after the Guardian launched a global campaign to end the practice.
The president, Yahya Jammeh, said last night that the controversial
surgical intervention would be outlawed. He said the ban would come
into effect immediately, though it was not clear when the government
would draft legislation to enforce it.
FGM involves cutting female genitalia – often when girls are young – to
remove their labia and clitoris, which often leads to lifelong health
complications, including bleeding, infections, vaginal pain and
infertility. More than 100 million women worldwide are subjected to the
procedure in Africa and the Middle East.
The practice is widespread in many African countries, including the
Gambia, where 76% of females have been subjected to it, including 56%
of under-14s.
Jaha Dukureh, an anti-FGM activist whose campaign to end the practice
in the country has been supported by the Guardian, spent the past week
meeting cabinet ministers in the Gambia and sent them articles from the
newspaper to inform them about the issue.
“I’m really amazed that the president did this. I didn’t expect this in a
million years. I’m just really proud of my country and I’m really, really
happy,” she told the Guardian. “I think the president cared about the
issue, it was just something that was never brought to his attention.
“The amazing thing is it’s election season. This could cost the president
the election. He put women and girls first, this could negatively affect
him, but this shows he cares more about women than losing people’s
votes.”
Dukureh will return to the Gambia on Tuesday to thank Jammeh for the
ban and to help with drafting the legislation that will enforce it.
The ban is a significant development on an issue that has proved
controversial and divisive in the Gambia, with some arguing that FGM is
permitted in Islam, the major religion in the country.
“The ban is an essential first step towards ending FGM and we commend
President Jammeh on finally announcing it,” said Mary Wandia, the
FGM programme manager at women’s rights campaign group Equality
Now.
“A law must now be enacted and properly implemented to ensure that
every girl at risk is properly protected. The government needs to show
strong commitment and prioritise this issue in a country where three
quarters of women have been affected and reductions in prevalence have
been slow to materialise.”
Though support for FGM is widespread in the Gambia, reports have
shown that public support for the practice has dropped in recent decades
among women across all age groups.
Support for the continuation of the practice is strongest among the
country’s richest women and varies dramatically in different ethnic
communities, with 84% of Mandinka women supporting the continuation
of FGM compared with 12% of Wolof women
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