A victory for opponents of female genital mutilation in The Gambia

When she was 2, Absa Samba underwent genital cutting – also known as female genital mutilation.

“I do not have any memories of what happened to me that day, but I do remember it not being talked about,” she says.

Now, Samba is 29 and she speaks openly – and critically – about the practice. She says it undermines the dignity and well-being of women and is a tool used to “control our bodies and our well-being.”

That echoes the World Health Organization’s position – that female genital mutilation is a violation of a woman’s human rights and can cause physical harm – even death from bleeding – as well as psychological damage. The practice involves damaging part of the clitoris and labia or sewing the vaginal opening shut. It is often seen as a way to preserve a woman’s virginity by reducing sexual pleasure or making it difficult to have intercourse.

This past year has been a stressful one for Samba and other Gambian activists who campaign against FGM. An intense debate around the issue has roiled the West African nation. And this week it all came to a head.

A tense vote

In 2015, The Gambia banned female genital mutilation (FGM). But since last summer, conservative clerics have led a concerted effort to overturn the ban. At a time when dozens of countries have prohibited the practice and other countries are considering a ban, The Gambia was poised to become the first country to reverse its ban and re-legalize the practice.

On Monday, Samba joined a crowd of people, watching on a screen outside the National Assembly as lawmakers cast their votes. “For a moment there was total silence,” she says.

Then, many erupted into clapping and cheering. Some women pump their fists in the air to celebrate.

The lawmakers had rejected an effort to reverse the ban. By a vote of 34 to 19, female genital mutilation would remain illegal in The Gambia. That’s a reversal of what happened In March, when assembly members voted to move the repeal bill forward for consideration.

“There was a huge sense of relief,” says Samba. “It felt really good.”

Those opposed ...

Not everyone agreed.

After the vote, a group of men marched down the street led by bespectacled Imam Abdoulie Fatty, a vocal advocate of the practice. He spoke to media outlets, saying in the local language of Mandinka, that lawmakers who voted to preserve the ban and those who elected them “are going to hell.”

His argument is that the procedure is part of being Muslim – a position that many scholars of Islam disagree with. He insisted that genital cutting will continue in the country.

The world is watching

More than 230 million women and girls, globally, have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM), according to United Nations Children’s Fund. And Gambia ranks among the countries with the highest rates of the practice.

The government’s Demographic and Health Survey indicates 73% of women age 19 to 49 were subjected to the procedure. The survey shows that, in 17% of cases in the country, the vaginal opening is sewn almost entirely shut and, in the majority of cases, the procedure is done before the girl’s fifth birthday. 

But, last August, nearly 10 years after the ban was enacted, the first arrests were made of women who perform the procedure. And that sparked a backlash: Religious leaders and others mobilized to repeal the ban and allow FGM to be legal again.

Many countries watched the unfolding drama closely.

“The eyes of the world, indeed, were on The Gambia,” says Judy Gitau, regional Africa coordinator for Equity Now, a nonprofit that advocates for ending FGM.

She says other countries – including nearby Sierra Leone and Liberia – are particularly in focus as they discuss the idea of a ban on FGM. She says this week’s vote sends a strong message.

But, she admits, laws don’t mean everything: “What we would like to see is more enforcement of the law” – a challenge in a country where the practice is widespread.

“We are talking about something that has been entrenched in tradition and practices for so long,” says Rose Sarr, the country representative for the United Nations Population Fund. “You really have to spend a lot of effort making sure that you change the behavior of people, because most of them believe that this is something that is good for the child. If you don't do it, you will not be able to find a husband.”

Despite what she calls “a long journey” ahead, there is one statistic that gives Sarr hope. The number of Gambian women who think FGM should not continue as a practice is growing. The government’s latest survey found that 47% of women are now in this camp.

And, she’s hopeful that number will keep ticking upward. The silver lining to this past year’s debate is that the topic has burst into the open, Sarr says. “Before it was really something that would not be debated,” she says. “Women would suffer in silence.”