By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT
The Hon Member for Foni Kansala Hon Almameh Gibba is set to table a bill which will repeal the ban against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). A press release published in a newspaper and dated 6th February 2024 highlights that “the Office of the Clerk of the National Assembly wishes to publish the following statement of the general nature and objects of the Women’s (Amendment) Bill 2024”.
The first paragraph states that “this Bill seeks to lift the ban on female genital circumcision in The Gambia, a practice deeply rooted in the ethnic, traditional, cultural, and religious beliefs of the majority of the Gambian people. It seeks to uphold religious purity and safeguard cultural norms and values. The current ban on female genital circumcision is a direct violation of citizens’ rights to practice their culture and religion as guaranteed by the Constitution”.
It continues: “Given The Gambia’s predominantly Muslim population, any law that is inconsistent with the aspirations of the majority of the people should be reconsidered. Female circumcision is a culturally significant practice supported by Islam, with clear proof of the teachings from our Prophet (S.A.W). It is to be noted that the use of laws to restrict religious or cultural practices, whether intentional or otherwise, can lead to conflict and friction”.
“Interestingly, the continued existence of the ban on female circumcision and penalizing practitioners has directly contradicted the broader principles of the United Nations, which encourages, through its agencies, the preservation and practice of cultural and historical heritages”, argued Hon Gibba.
“It is important to challenge the terminology used by anti-female circumcision movements, who label the practice as “mutilation”. Properly conducted circumcision, as per religious guidelines and teachings, is not and cannot be deemed mutilation. Emphasizing this distinction is crucial in addressing concerns raised by activists” stated the Objects and Reasons of the Bill.
It concluded by noting that “revoking the ban on female circumcision will allow people to indulge in the practice with all its precautions, guided by religion, diligence, and care”.
It’s not clear when this Bill will be tabled in Parliament but it may be tabled during the First Parliamentary Sitting which should take place in March 2024.
The Ban on Female Genital Circumcision
The Women’s (Amendment) Act 2015 banned female circumcision.
- Section 32A(2)(a) – anyone who engages in female circumcision commits an offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of three years or a fine of 50,000 Dalasi (US$1,060), or both; and
- Section 32A(2)(b) – where female circumcision causes death, the punishment shall be life imprisonment.
- Section 32B(1) – anyone who requests, incites or promotes female circumcision by providing tools or by any other means commits an offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of three years or a fine of 50,000 Dalasi (US$1,060), or both.
- Section 32B(2) – failure to report female circumcision is an offence punishable on conviction by a fine of 10,000 Dalasi (US$212).
How Did We Get Here?
The die was cast when Hon Sulayman Saho of Central Baddibou raised a matter of the day focused on repealing the ban on Female Genital Mutilation/ Cutting on 11th September 2023. The wave of support from Members of the Sixth Legislature which included female National Assembly members that followed his matter of the day raised significant concerns from the National Human Rights Commission, and Civil Society Organisations but was supported by the Supreme Islamic Council.
The whole thing started when three women were found guilty of practising FGM in August 2023. The three women pleaded guilty and were fined D15,000 each failing to pay will have to serve 1 year in imprisonment. According to the Ruling Statement, the first accused is over 80 years old, the second accused is a breast-feeding mother and the third accused is visibly pregnant.
However, well-known Religious Scholar Imam Fatty decided to pay the fines of the women which brought him at loggerheads with anti-FGM Activists. Since then, The Association of Non-Governmental Organisations, the National Youth Parliament, women’s rights organisations, the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights and the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child have all condemned the move to repeal the FGM ban.
The NHRC argues that “the National Assembly is the ultimate human rights defender and the bulwark for the most vulnerable members of our society, the children. It has the duty to create and support an enabling environment for the protection of human rights, strengthen existing human rights accountability frameworks, and contribute to solidifying the gains made in the realization of the human rights of women and girls”.
The African Union joint statement dated 14th September 2024 highlighted that “in line with the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women (Maputo Protocol), the African Commission and the Children’s Committee appeal to the Government of The Gambia to safeguard girls and women from the harmful practice of FGM. Particularly, the Government is urged to prohibit, through legislative measures backed by sanctions, all forms of FGM and eliminate harmful social and cultural practices affecting the welfare, dignity, normal growth, and development of the child, as enshrined in Article 5(b) of the Maputo Protocol and Article 21(1) of the African Children’s Charter”.
On the other hand, the Gambia’s Supreme Islamic Council (GSIC) issued a statement and a Fatwa in support of Parliament’s matter of the day. The GSIC presser “confirms that female circumcision is a percept of Islam, as the jurisprudence of the schools of law in Islam (Mathaheb) have agreed that circumcision for men and women is a legitimate practice in Islam. However, there is disagreement among scholars as to whether it is obligatory. Sunnah. desirable/. None of the Muslim jurists – in our literature review – has been quoted as forbidding circumcision for men and women or suggesting that it is impermissible or harmful to women if it is performed in the manner that the Messenger – Peace be Upon Him – taught to Um Habibah…”.
Over 92 Million Girls have undergone FGM in Africa says ACHPR Commissioner Sallah-Njie
Three Die from FGM in Sierra Leone
FGM is not only practised in The Gambia, in Sierra Leone, it was reported earlier this month that three girls died from the practice where it currently remains legal. The Guardian reported on 2nd February 2024 that “Adamsay Sesay, 12; Salamatu Jalloh, 13; and Kadiatu Bangura, 17, died during initiation ceremonies in the country’s North West province” in January 2024.
According to the Gambia Demographic and Health Survey 2013 published by the Gambia Bureau of Statistics “Medicalised FGM is not widespread in The Gambia: less than 1% of women are cut by a health professional. Almost all FGM continues to be carried out by traditional circumcisers”.
Another report titled “The Gambia: The Law and FGM” reveals that “the first widely reported case in the Banjul Magistrate Court concerned the death of a five-month-old girl resulting from FGM in 2016. The accused included the girls’ mother, grandmother and the cutter. Further details of whether charges were followed through are not available”.
Speaking to anti-FGM advocates they stress the fact that FGM Practices in the country are not conducted by trained medical professionals and many times without anaesthetic. It remains to be seen if the Bill to be tabled by Hon Gibba will gain the same support as Hon Saho’s matter of the day.