Gambian MPs Keep FGM Ban in Place
A week before the final vote on the attempted repeal, most of the lawmakers voted against each of the new clauses, which led to the end of the process.
Update: This story has been updated to effect the most recent developments as of July 15 at 6:30 p.m. GMT.
Gambia’s law banning female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) has been reinforced by the country’s lawmakers, overruling the push for its repeal. After passing two readings, members of parliament (MPs) voted on the new clauses for the Women’s (Amendment) Bill 2024, with the overwhelming majority voting against the proposed removal of the law banning FGM/C.
Due to the outcome of today’s vote, National Assembly Speaker Fabakary Tombong Jatta announced that the bill will no longer be moving forward for a third reading and final vote, previously scheduled for next week.
“The [National] Assembly cannot be engaged in such a futile exercise as to allow the bill to proceed to a third reading,” Jatta said, adding that the “legislative process [is] exhausted.” The upholding of the ban against FGM/C follows the adoption of a report by a joint committee, which involved an extensive debate.
In a heated session that reportedly involved a lot of shouting and banging on tables, the house was looking into the recommendations of the Parliamentary Joint Committee of Health and Gender. In its report, the committee resolved that the 2015 ban should be upheld, “to prohibit female circumcision in all forms whether genital mutilation or cutting in The Gambia.”
“Repealing the ban on FGM/C would expose women and girls to severe health risks and violate their right to physical and mental well-being,” the committee said.
In addition to maintaining the anti-FGM law, the committee had also recommended the provision of legal support for women and girls at risk of undergoing FGM/C, stricter enforcement of the law against FGM/C, and a ban on any attempts to medicalize the procedure.
Thirty-five members of parliament (MPs) voted in favor of adopting the report’s recommendations, while 17 voted against and two abstained. This was the first indication that the law against FGM/C would have remained in place after the now-canceled third reading.
If the repeal had passed through, it would have made Gambia the first country to roll back anti-FGM laws. The law was put in place back in 2015, but it wasn’t until last year that its first convictions were recorded. Shortly after the landmark case, pro-FGM supporters began public discussion on the possibility of the law being reversed, and it made its way to parliament in March, scaling two readings that sent it to the joint committee for further review.
There are 28 African countries with laws against FGM.
Pro-FGM support was led by some prominent Islamic clerics in the Muslim-majority country, however, the committee also noted in its report that FGM/C isn’t a religious-backed act, after consulting with some religious leaders. The committee had also referred to the potential repeal as a “traumatic form of torture” and “discrimination against women.”