Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on lawmakers in The Gambia to reject a proposed bill aiming to overturn the ban on female genital mutilation (FGM), asserting it as a setback for women’s rights.
Since 2015, FGM has been illegal in The Gambia. However, in March, legislators voted to move forward with a controversial bill seeking to lift the ban, now under committee review before a final decision expected in June.
If passed, The Gambia would be the first nation globally to reverse an FGM ban, HRW highlighted.
“The Gambian government’s consideration of a bill reversing the ban on FGM is deeply troubling for women’s rights,” said Mausi Segun, Africa director at HRW.
The proposed law, if enacted, could normalize FGM and potentially prompt similar actions across Africa, undermining strides made in safeguarding girls and women from this harmful practice, Segun added.
FGM, defined by UNICEF as the partial or total removal of the female external genitalia for non-medical reasons, poses serious health risks and can lead to complications in childbirth, infertility, and diminished sexual pleasure.
Statistics from 2024 reveal that The Gambia ranks among the top 10 countries with the highest prevalence of FGM, affecting 73 percent of women and girls aged 15 to 49.
HRW urges the Gambian government to protect the rights of girls and women by opposing any move to weaken the existing FGM ban.
In March, UN representatives cautioned that overturning the ban could establish a “dangerous precedent” and perpetuate discrimination and violence against women and girls.
Nafisa Binte Shafique, The Gambia’s UNICEF Representative, and Ndeye Rose Sarr, UNFPA Representative, emphasized that such actions contradict the principles of justice and equality.
