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Under pressure from religious leaders, Gambian lawmakers want to repeal the current law and reauthorize FGM, which was outlawed in the country eight years ago and is punishable by up to three years in prison.
Many organizations around the world have mobilized. In the European Parliament, we voted overwhelmingly to withdraw the Gambian lawmaker’s bill.
As Honorary Chairman of the “German Network for the Abolition of Female Genital Mutilation Integra”, I personally approached the Gambian authorities and asked the deputies at the National Assembly in Banjul to take into account the wishes of those affected who are demonstrating against the revocation of the current law.
After months of controversy and international pressure, Gambian lawmakers have withdrawn proposed laws that would have lifted a ban on female genital mutilation and cutting that has been in effect since 2015.
Decriminalization through the bill would make The Gambia the first country in the world to lift its ban on female genital mutilation.
The resistance by Gambian organizations, demonstrations in the diaspora and especially by Gambians who spoke out against the bill had a successful positive impact.
On July 15, 2024, delegates rejected the bill and all amendments to the 2015 legal text that would have legalized the practice of female genital mutilation. Female genital mutilation (FGM) remains prohibited in The Gambia.
“We cannot proceed with the futile exercise of allowing the bill to proceed to the third reading,” said Fabakary Tombong Jatta, spokesman for the Gambia’s National Assembly. “The bill is rejected and the legislative process is over.”
Activists around the world are celebrating the decision, with Jaha Dukureh, a survivor of female genital mutilation and founder of Safe Hands for Girls, speaking after the law was revoked: “Today we find ourselves once again on the right side of history. We have shown that even if they burn this country down, we will rebuild it to protect our women and girls. Today we have won for The Gambia.”
Human rights groups, the United Nations and the European Parliament urged MPs to withdraw the bill because it undermines all efforts to abolish this outdated practice, which has harmful consequences for the health of women and girls. It would set a dangerous precedent for the degradation of women’s rights and would also undermine Sustainable Development Goal 5, which calls for the elimination of female genital mutilation worldwide by 2030.
Gambian women no longer have to worry about their physical health being put at risk or about falling victim to a knife or blade. These simple instruments are used during the removal process. The Gambia is one of 10 countries with a high rate of female genital mutilation: according to 2024 data from UNICEF, 73% of women and girls aged 15 to 49 have undergone the practice. This surge of cross-border solidarity shows that together we can achieve “zero tolerance for female genital mutilation” by 2030. But we must remain vigilant so that the mutilation is not carried out in secret,
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