Despite The Gambia banning the harmful practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) in 2015, it seems lawmakers in the country are yet to grasp the very negative impact the practice has on the rights and well-being of women and girls.

Development Diaries reports that the Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (TANGO) has urged The Gambian National Assembly members to vote against the Amendment Bill seeking to repeal the Female Genital Mutilation Law.

Earlier, we reported that Almammeh Gibba, a lawmaker, presented a bill in support of the harmful practice.

In a recent interview with newsmen in the country, Gibba said, ‘the bill is not an FGM bill. It is an add-up and a connotation that the West or conspirators want to use to set the fears aspect to the masses of Gambians.

‘This is called female circumcision, not FGM, and The Gambia is not a country that practices FGM’.

What the lawmaker failed to know is that until the 1980s, FGM was widely known as ‘female circumcision’, implying an equivalence in severity with male circumcision.

According to him, the criminalisation of FGM is an insult to Gambian mothers, Gambian traditions, and religion.

However, what he did not note is the cruelty involved in the process of cutting off genital parts of women and girls, which puts them at serious risk of health complications and life-long trauma.

‘It is deeply troubling that members of the National Assembly are seeking to repeal such a law. FGM is a blatant violation of the rights of women and girls’, said the Chairperson of TANGO, Yadicon Eribo, during the commemoration of International Women’s Day 2024.

Development Diaries reiterates its call on The Gambia National Assembly to protect women and girls by rejecting the proposed anti-women and girls bill.

Photo source: VON