By Patience Loum
A survivor of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) / Female Genital Cutting (FGC) confided to our media house about her experience with early childhood marriage which she overcame to become an anti-FGM/C advocate. Ms Tala Camara is among the Gambia’s young Gender activists raising awareness of this crime in her rural village of Basse, located in the Upper River Region of The Gambia.
In 2015, the government introduced the Women’s Amendment Act 2015 pronouncing FGM illegal in The Gambia. Although the amendment now means that offenders could face up to three years in prison and or a fine of D50,000 the practice still persists in numerous communities, especially in the rural areas where it’s seen as a necessary rite of passage for young girls.
FGM/C is a harmful practice that involves the removal or injury of external female genital organs for non-medical reasons. Some of the adverse health impacts of FGM/C include haemorrhaging, infection, chronic pain, childbirth complications and even death.
A Painful Experience
Ms Camara was only 8 years old when she was exposed to FGM/C. Since her painful experience, she has dedicated her life to campaigning against the practice in rural Basse. Like Ms Camara, many girls suffer this same fate every day. FGM/C is practised in almost all regions of The Gambia with Basse counting as number one with the highest rates.
“I remembered screaming and shouting for help but there was no one to help me,” she recalled.
According to an FGM/C report published by the United States Department of State, 20 per cent of those that have undergone FGM are below the ages of five and fifty per cent are between the ages of five and eighteen, with the average being approximately twelve.
FGM/C is conducted mostly with crude tools such as knives, razor blades which are rarely sterilized.
“It was a really painful experience that I don’t wish for any girl child,” she said. “I had difficulty urinating afterwards as a result of the act so I remembered keeping my urine to myself,” says Ms Camara.
According to an estimate from the World Health Organization, about 25 per cent of girls die during circumcision or from its consequences. It is a tradition that causes trauma and lifelong physical and psychological suffering for survivors.
Evading Early Childhood Marriage
Following that painful experience, Ms Camara recounted the day she returned home from school to the news that her marriage had already been arraigned without her knowledge.
“I came home one day from school and saw a lot of people in my house. I didn’t actually know what was going on until my sister told me that I’ve been given away to get married and the knot has already been tied. I felt so bad that I had to cry,” she lamented.
“After learning about the dreadful decision that my family took for me I decided to report to the school administration because I wasn’t prepared for marriage at that moment. I, later on, ran away from my family just so that they won’t force me into marriage,” she said.
Ms Camara was only 14 years old when her marriage was arraigned without her knowledge. She eventually ran away from her family at 17 years old after finishing college, just to avoid being forced into marriage.
Reconciling and Closure
“For over two years, nobody knew my whereabouts until I completed my high school and started college. It was at this time that I reconciled with my mum so it wasn’t easy at all on me. I am now 26 years old and because of FGM, I am still afraid of getting married wondering about the complications in marriage and childbirth that come as a result of FGM”.
Ms Camara is now working as a communication officer and also serves as a youth leader at the National Youth Council. She wears a number of different caps and is the regional Chairperson of Activista the Gambia.
Now in her second year at The University of the Gambia, Ms Camara still makes time to volunteer with community-based organizations as a community trainer and advocate against FGM/C, Gender-Based Violence (GBV) & child marriage.
“Many young girls underwent FGM/C and more continue to undergo the heinous practice that presents both short term and long-term complications. Many women in Gambian communities suffer in silence after sustaining lifelong complications of undergoing FGM/C. even with the banning of FGM/C, girls in my country are secretly subjected to the practice. I know these things because I work with women and girls in schools and communities across the country” she said.
Her work has contributed to an increased awareness of the lasting adverse health effects of FGM/C on girls and women.
“My unwavering commitment to end FGM/C is a quintessential manifestation of my interest in this lifetime opportunity, I believe with my interpersonal communication skills and extensive experience as a Social and Behavioral Change Communication advocate against FGM/C in communities and schools makes me an outstanding candidate to be granted such an opportunity that aligns with my work and passion to create a gender-balanced society that value the fundamental human rights of all people most especially women and girls”.
“It is through these community works that we empower women and girls, to become advocates and activists against FGM/C,” she said.
Through her advocacy work, Ms Camara is currently a Tuwezeshe fellow under the Spotlight Initiative program in partnership with Think Young Women and ForwardUK. The fellowship aims to assist young women to raise awareness on the harmful practices of FGM/C, GBV and child marriage.
“Having been born and brought up in a society where FGM/C and other harmful traditional practices are highly practised and being a survivor of FGM/C and child marriage, I apply for this fellowship program because FGM/C has been one of the most devastating realities confronting communities in my country.”