Petition – stop the FGM/C law repeal in The Gambia
March 2024
Women who used to carry out female genital mutilation march against the practice in Wassu, the Gambia, in 2014. Photograph: UNFPA
We are saddened to hear from our allies and campaigners in Gambia that a bill has been tabled in parliament to lift the ban on performing Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C). In 2015 the Gambian government took a stand for women and girls, amending the women’s act (2010) to explicitly criminalise FGM/C, on 18th March the country’s parliament voted to advance a controversial bill to repeal the existing ban.
The new bill has been raised by an independent lawmaker on ‘religious and cultural grounds’. But FGM/C is not encouraged within any religious scriptures nor does it represent African, or other, culture – it is abuse and a form of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). Nearly 80% of women and girls in Gambia have been subjected to FGM/C and this action can have lifelong impacts, including: PTSD and mental health challenges, regular discomfort, infertility, excessive bleeding or other internal complications and even death.
‘This is not only about FGM, this is about women and the control of women’s bodies’- @jahadukureh
On 8th March the Unicef (the UN’s childrens agency) released new figures around the prevalence of FGM/C survivors: ‘more than 230 million girls and women alive today have undergone FGM, compared with 200 million in 2016’. Due to the underreporting of FGM/C we believe this number to be much higher, but this acknowledged increase is an importrant reflection on how far we have to go before girls and survivors are protected and listened to.
In October we discussed the first UK prosecution of a person for assisting FGM/C and while speaking on the radio Sema summed up our position: ‘we don’t believe prosecutions alone are the solutions; we need to look at the root causes’. But the law has an essential part to play in ending VAWG as decision-makers can use it to send a clear message and hold citizens to account.
Hoda Ali the Co-founder of The Vavengers said:
“I am disappointed that a law that’s only eight years old that was supposed to protect women and girls is being discussed to be revoked. Once again we are letting women and girls down by even discussing the revoke of this important law. Where is the outrage from the men in our communities, the fathers, sons, and brothers too; we need everyone regardless of gender to stand up to protect girl children. Cultural acceptance doesn’t mean accepting the unacceptable. FGM/C is child abuse and we must stop it.”
But hope is not lost. Activists and survivors in the Gambia and around the world are raising their voices to oppose the parliament's actions, and you can use yours too.
Nala Feminist Collective have a clear call to action via their petition: ‘We urge the National Assembly of The Gambia to uphold the ban on FGM/C and reject any attempts to legalise or condone this harmful practice…We call on African governments, feminist leaders and movements, religious and traditional leaders, community members, and civil society organizations to join us in condemning FGM/C and advocating for the rights and dignity of all girls and women’.
Sema Gornall, the CEO of The Vavengers said:
“Women and girls bodily autonomy cannot be up for debate. Culture is food, music and everything that makes a community unique and special. Culture is not abuse and we cannot even entertain this legal debate in The Gambia. There are absolutely no grounds to abuse women and girls. As activists working to end FGM/C, we are outraged that this debate is even taking place and ask everyone globally to sign petitions to stop this law from being revoked.”
We strongly support the campaign to ensure the law is not repealed in Gambia and the voices of survivors and women and girls continue to be heard and represented. Sign the petition here and follow Nala Feminist Collective to show support and stay updated.
With solidarity,
The Vavengers