Female genital mutilation (FGM) concerns procedures that involve altering or injuring the female genitalia for non-medical reasons. Indeed, there are no health benefits to FGM. However, FGM stands for more than a harmful procedure that inflicts temporary pain and suffering. FGM is a severe violation of the human rights of women and girls. FGM is a human rights violation that results in physical and psychological consequences that women and girls have to deal with for the rest of their lives. The U.N. warns that “girls who undergo FGM, experience short-term complications such as severe pain, shock, excessive bleeding, infections, and difficulty in passing urine. There are also long-term impacts on their sexual and reproductive health, and on mental health.” Despite these serious consequences, FGM is often performed by medical professionals. “Around 1 in 4 girls and women who have undergone female genital mutilation, or 52 million worldwide, were subjected to the practice at the hands of a health personnel.” This is an alarming emerging trend that needs to be addressed.
According to UNICEF, at least 230 million women and girls who are alive today have undergone FGM. This harmful procedure is mostly carried out on young girls between infancy and age 15. Africa accounts for the largest share of this total with over 144 million women and girls affected. Asia follows with over 80 million, and a further 6 million are in the Middle East.
Over the last three decades, the prevalence of FGM is said to have declined globally. However, the elimination of FGM by 2030, in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal 5, is at risk. Indeed, among others, the Covid-19 pandemic stalled decades of global progress. “Shuttered schools, lockdowns and disruption to services that protect girls, have put millions worldwide at increased risk of being subjected to FGM.” Where girls do not have access to vital services, schools and community networks, their risk of FGM significantly increases. According to the U.N., as a result of the challenges associated with the Covid-19 pandemic, “additional 2 million girls [were] projected to be at risk of undergoing female genital mutilation by 2030.” This constitutes a 33% reduction in the progress toward ending this harmful practice.
Furthermore, in some places, as in the case of the Gambia, there are efforts underway to decriminalize FGM. On March 18, 2024, Gambian lawmakers voted to advance to the next parliamentary stage a highly controversial bill that seeks to lift a ban on FGM, which has been in place since 2015. The 2015 law criminalized FGM and imposed fines and jail sentences for those who carry out FGM. In cases where FGM leads to death, life imprisonment is also possible. In 2023, three Gambian women were convicted of performing FGM on eight girls and were fined around 15,000 Gambian Dalasi ($220) each or face a one-year jail sentence. According to reports, the fines were paid by an Islamic cleric.
Almameh Gibba, the Gambian lawmaker who presented the new bill aimed at decriminalizing FGM, is reported to say that “the bill seeks to uphold religious loyalty and safeguard cultural norms and values. The use of a ban on [FGM] is direct violation of the citizens’ rights to practice their culture and religion.”
The bill, voted by 42 to four, will be sent to a parliamentary committee for review. At the committee stage, it can be amended, before it is to be sent back to the national assembly for a vote.
If the bill is passed, Gambia would become the first country to reverse a ban on FGM. It will also reverse progress made in relation to women’s equality and women’s rights in the country, but also beyond. The Gambia must oppose any such harmful practices as FGM and keep the ban.