Gambian Assembly Revokes Female Genital Cutting Ban

The New York Times reports:

Gambian lawmakers have voted to revoke a ban on female genital cutting by removing legal protections for millions of girls, raising fears that other countries could follow suit. Of the 47 members of the Gambia National Assembly present on Monday, 42 voted in favor of a bill to overturn the ban, sending the decision to committees before a final vote.

Human rights experts, lawyers and women’s and girls’ rights campaigners say that overturning the ban will undo decades of work to end female genital cutting, a centuries-old ritual tied up in ideas of sexual purity, obedience and control.

If it passes the final stages, the small West African nation of Gambia will become the first nation globally to roll back protections against cutting.

Read the full article. Gambia, population 2.5 million, gained independence from Britain in 1965. Gambia is nearly 100% Muslim, as is president Adama Barrow [photo above], who has two wives. Before being elected, Barrow worked as a security guard in a London department store.

“They are using girls’ bodies as a political battlefield” – @BaldehF https://t.co/UWlN7ftH8O

— Ruth Maclean (@ruthmaclean) March 18, 2024