Three women were found guilty of performing female genital mutilation (FGM) in the Gambia and were each sentenced to a year in prison or a fine of 15 000 dalasis, or roughly R4 300.
The conviction of Mba-Yasin Fatty, 95, the circumciser, Nano Jalal, and Kaddijatou Jallow, the mothers of the circumcised girls, ignited a national conversation that rights organisations now worry could lead to the formal legalisation of female genital mutilation.
The three were the first individuals charged in accordance with the nation’s Women’s Amendment Act of 2015, which made FGM illegal under previous president Yahya Jammeh.
Unicef reports that 73% of women and girls in the Gambia between the ages of 15 and 49 had undergone FGM.
FGM is a practise that involves the partial or complete removal of the external female genitalia or other harm to the female genital organs for non-medical purposes, according to the World Health Organisation. The practise is unhealthy for girls and women and can cause excessive bleeding, urinary problems, cysts, infections, challenging deliveries, and an increased risk of stillbirth.
More than 200 million girls and women worldwide have experienced some type of female genital mutilation, according to the United Nations Population Fund.
Among other African nations, FGM is carried out in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.
NGOs worry that due to President Adama Barrow’s efforts to eliminate women’s legal safeguards, the Gambia may now regress.
The Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (Tango) in The Gambia thinks the August slap-on-the-wrist sentences are just the beginning of the issue.
“We are concerned about the leniency of the sentences, as a fine of just D15 000 does not adequately reflect the crime’s seriousness,” they said in a statement.
“Some political and religious leaders have openly supported the convicted individuals,” Tango added.
Imam Abdoulie Fatty, a prominent member of the Islamic faith, paid the fines on the grounds that the fight against FGM constituted an open assault on the existence of Islam in the Gambia.
The Supreme Islamic Council made a statement in September endorsing FGM in the Gambia.
“The committee would like to clarify that female circumcision is not just a merely inherited custom, as falsely claimed by those who are not conversant with the Islamic Law. Rather, it is one of the virtues of Islam and among the Sunnah practices approved by the Messenger of Allah,” it said.
The country has already had a parliamentary debate about the decriminalisation of FGM.
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child this week issued a joint statement “to express deep concern about the current regressive Parliamentary debate advocating for the repeal of laws that prohibit FGM.”
They said the reversal of the legislation was not the solution.
“Dialogue with various stakeholders, including religious and traditional leaders, is the way to uphold the rule of law,” they said.
The United Nations in the Gambia also wants to see the Women’s (Amendment) Act of 2015 upheld and supported further because “FGM is an infringement on the fundamental human rights of girls and women.”
Since the 2015 amendment, a lot of ground has been covered in defending the rights and dignity of girls and women, according to Abdoulie Badjie, the UN’s programmes communications and advocacy officer in the Gambia.
Standing firm with survivors and supporting their leadership in the campaign to eradicate FGM had been a part of the effort.
But all of that development is now in jeopardy.
