Lawmakers in the West African country of Gambia on Monday rejected a bill that would have lifted a ban on female genital mutilation. The bid to become the first country in the world to lift such a ban has been closely watched by activists abroad.
The vote came after months of heated debate in the predominantly Muslim country of some 3 million people. Lawmakers effectively killed the bill by rejecting all of its provisions and preventing a final vote.
The procedure, also known as female genital mutilation, involves the partial or complete removal of the female genitalia, often by traditional community healers using tools such as razors, or sometimes by medical personnel. It can cause severe bleeding, death and birth problems, but remains widely practiced in parts of Africa.
Activists and rights groups were concerned that lifting the ban in Gambia would undo years of work against the centuries-old practice, which is often carried out on girls as young as five and is rooted in notions of sexual purity and control.
Religious conservatives, who led the campaign to overturn the ban, consider the practice “one of the virtues of Islam.”
“It’s a huge sense of relief,” one of the activists and survivors, Absa Samba, told The Associated Press after the vote as she celebrated with others outside parliament. “But I think this is just the beginning.”
Fatu Baldeh, another activist and survivor, said she woke up crying that morning.
“Why did we have to go through this for 11 months?” she asked, her voice shaking. “Why did we have to go through our injuries? Just because men didn’t believe that FGM could harm us.”
And he added: “And now the girls have been cut. I hope this time it is not just a decoration law.”
According to UN estimates, more than half of women and girls aged 15 to 49 in Gambia have gone through this process. Former leader Yahya Jammeh unexpectedly banned the practice in 2015 without further explanation. But activists say enforcement is weak, the number of women continues to decline and only two cases have been opened.
Even now, “it was widespread and there was massive publicity,” Samba said. He called for more public information about the health consequences of the practice.
UNICEF said earlier this year that in the past eight years, some 30 million women worldwide have undergone female genital cutting, most of them in Africa, with others in Asia and the Middle East.
According to a World Bank study earlier this year that cited the United Nations Population Fund, more than 80 countries have laws that ban the practice or allow it to be prosecuted. These include South Africa, Iran, India and Ethiopia.
The UNFPA report states that “no religious text promotes or condemns female genital mutilation.”
In the long term, the experience can lead to urinary tract infections, menstrual problems, pain, decreased sexual satisfaction and fertility problems, as well as depression, low self-esteem and post-traumatic stress.
Java and Pronchuk write for The Associated Press. Pronchuk reported from Dakar, Senegal.
