On Monday, July 15, Gambia’s parliament rejected a bill that would have terminated a ban on female genital mutilation after lawmakers voted down all the clauses in the proposed law.
The bill to reject the ban had sparked a public debate about female genital mutilation for the first time in the country, splitting villages, families and parliament.
The lawmaker that took the proposal to parliament, Almaneh Gibba, had said he was sustaining the cultural and religious prerogatives in the Muslim-majority country where Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is widespread and deeply rooted. However, a lot of Islamic scholars have challenged his stance.
In March, the bill passed a second reading with only five out of 53 lawmakers voting against it. These lawmakers had raised valid concerns among the country’s rights activists, saying that Gambia would become the first to reverse a ban on the practice.
However, after weeks of holding public hearings, the parliament’s health and gender affairs committees presented a joint report on July 8 suggesting that Gambia maintain the ban.
Although there are claims by political pundits that they may have been swayed by testimonies from doctors and the FGM survivors, lawmakers adopted the report by a vote of 35 to 17, with only two abstentions.
The third and final reading is scheduled for July 24.
Why It Matters
According to the World Health Organization, FGM is a despicable practice with no health benefits that often times, leads to excessive bleeding, shock, psychological problems and even death.
Gambia’s ban on FGM in 2015 made it punishable by up to three years in prison.
Presently, Gambia is a signatory to international agreements and conventions that criticise FGM.
These agreements include the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Maputo Protocol.
The Gambian government upholding the ban demonstrates its dedication to the global efforts to end FGM.
