An estimated 230 million girls worldwide are circumcised. Activists fear that if the West African country rescinds its ban, other countries will soon follow.
Gambia, a small West African state, could soon take on a dubious pioneering role. In the coming weeks, the country’s parliamentarians will vote on whether to lift a ban on female genital mutilation (FGM), first instituted in 2015. Gambia would be the first country in the world to lift such a ban.
It is entirely possible that the ban will soon be a thing of the past. In an initial vote in March, only four MPs were against the repeal. Of the 58 members of Gambia’s National Assembly, 53 are men. Advocates of FGM in Gambia say that the ritual is a religious tradition that Western forces and their allies want to ban. Opponents fear that Gambia could set a precedent and make the fight against FGM even more difficult.
According to the latest figures from the U.N. children’s fund UNICEF, 230 million girls and women worldwide are circumcised – 30 million more than eight years ago. The majority of those affected, 144 million, live in African countries. Just over 80 million live in Asia.
FGM is mainly practiced in Muslim countries, but it also occurs in some Christian and animist communities. At 99%, Somalia has the highest rate of circumcised girls and women in the world. In Gambia, three-quarters of all girls and women are circumcised.
Anti-Western arguments
The proportion of circumcised girls and women in Gambia has fallen only slightly since the ban was introduced in 2015. In August 2023, fines were imposed for the first time. They targeted three women who were accused of having circumcised several girls. The defendants were supposed to pay the equivalent of 200 francs each.
These fines also triggered a storm of protest, which could now lead to a repeal of the ban. A prominent imam, Abdoulie Fatty, argued that circumcision goes back to teachings of the Prophet Muhammed and paid the fines for the three circumcisers.
The campaign continued in the National Assembly. At the end of 2023, MP Almameh Gibba introduced a bill calling for the ban to be lifted. Gibba said that his initiative was aimed at «preserving religious rights and protecting cultural values.» He described the circumcision ban as a «direct violation of the right of citizens to practice their culture.»
Gibba also told Reuters that most Gambians reject the ban because circumcision is prescribed by Islam. «We will not be dictated by Western philosophy and their views on what we do,» said Gibba. «Who are they to tell us how to practice our culture, our religion, our traditional beliefs?»
Advocates of FGM believe that the practice increases the purity of girls, protects their virginity and thus improves their chances of getting married. Some also believe that circumcision increases fertility and prevents miscarriages. In practicing communities, there is significant social pressure to perform the procedure because uncircumcised women are considered dishonorable.
This anti-Western rhetoric mirrors the arguments used by conservative and populist groups in various African countries against the LGBTQ+ community. They also claim that the West wants to impose its values on Africa – in this case not by banning something, but by supposedly importing homosexuality.
Experts on Islam point out that the Quran and other Muslim scriptures do not contain a commandment to circumcise girls, and that the Prophet Muhammed actually warned against harming women. Many Islamic clerics have also spoken out against FGM.
Supporters of FGM stone police
If the circumcision ban in Gambia is lifted, activists fear a domino effect. «There are similar plans in several countries. Lifting the ban in Gambia would give them a boost,» says Fatou Baldeh, a leading Gambian activist against FGM.
However, Baldeh believes there is a good chance the ban could remain in place after all. She has been lobbying over the past few months, connecting women affected by FGM with members of parliament and letting them tell their stories. Baldeh believes it is possible that enough MPs have changed their minds. However, she says, «The parliamentarians are intimidated by religious leaders and are worried about their reelection.» It is therefore unclear how the vote will turn out.
FGM is banned in more than 70 countries; roughly half of them are in sub-Saharan Africa. Activists say the bans are a first step, but they are often not enforced in practice.
The international fight against FGM has intensified in recent years. The U.N. has made it its goal to end the practice by 2030 – which seems highly unlikely. In the meantime, activists have been setting up emergency shelters for girls at risk, for instance, or working with religious leaders – most of them younger and more educated – to inform communities about the dangers of FGM. In some countries, such as Kenya, FGM is much less common than it was a few decades ago. The fact that the number of women affected worldwide is increasing despite all of these efforts is due to the high population growth in many communities that continue to practice FGM.
In addition, efforts to end the practice are often met with vehement resistance from conservatives. In western Kenya, for instance, a group of men stormed a police station in December 2023 and stoned a policeman to death. Police officers had previously taken a group of girls to hospital after they had been circumcised.
The procedure involves the removal of the clitoris and parts of the labia and usually takes place before puberty. In the most extreme form, the labia are sutured shut so that only a small opening remains for urination and menstruation.
Circumcision can have serious health consequences such as heavy bleeding, recurring uterine infections, cysts, infertility and in many cases psychological damage. The United Nations describes FGM as a serious violation of human rights and a form of torture.
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