Gambian mothers fear for their daughters as court weighs FGM ban | News
Wellingara, The Gambia — The Gambian Supreme Court is set to issue a ruling on Wednesday regarding the country’s ban on female genital mutilation (FGM). Survivors assert that the outcome will be crucial in determining whether future generations of girls will remain safeguarded by the law or susceptible to the same experiences they endured.
In Wellingara, girls play freely across a sandy yard, their laughter intermingling with the afternoon call to prayer. Unbeknownst to them, a significant legal battle is taking place that could influence their futures.
Mariama Jabbie, 28, watches her daughters, aged six and nine, from beneath a mango tree. The memories of her own FGM experience, which occurred at their ages nearly three decades ago, haunt her. While the specifics of that day are foggy, the emotional scars have never faded.
Mariama reflects on how FGM has impacted every stage of her life, leading to long-lasting trauma that extends into her roles as a spouse and mother. The recent death of a three-month-old baby linked to an illegal FGM procedure near her home has intensified her fears of similar horror befalling her daughters.
“I am always on high alert,” Mariama stated. “I fear a relative could take my daughters without my knowledge. Over my dead body will any of my daughters endure what I went through.”
Her concerns resonate with other mothers, including 30-year-old Binta Jawo, who also underwent FGM as a child. Binta is committed to ensuring that her seven-year-old daughter avoids the same painful fate. She voiced apprehensions about the Supreme Court potentially diminishing the legal protections that currently exist for girls.
“The ban has made a difference,” she said. “It has helped reduce the practice, even if it hasn’t stopped it completely.”
If the law is weakened, she worries that families may again feel pressured to subject their daughters to FGM.
For Sarjo Kambi, 37, the fears became a stark reality this year when her daughter was subjected to FGM by her paternal grandmother while Sarjo was away on a business trip. Sarjo, who was also cut at the age of six, described the enduring effects of the trauma on her health and family life. “I was almost sealed as a result of the cutting,” she recounted, explaining how the experience affected her marriage. The betrayal of family involvement in the act left her feeling abandoned by law enforcement, who dismissed her appeals for help.
“‘It was a family matter’—that response devastated me,” she said. “It felt like my child did not matter.”
With the Supreme Court’s ruling looming, Sarjo fears the removal of even the limited protections the current law offers.
As the Supreme Court deliberates, the case represents one of The Gambia’s most pivotal constitutional challenges. It reignites discussions about religion, culture, and women’s rights, especially following parliament’s 2024 rejection of a bid to repeal the 2015 ban on FGM.
The law criminalizes the practice and imposes penalties including up to three years in prison, or life imprisonment if resulting in death. However, enforcement has been limited, allowing FGM to persist largely in secrecy. The first convictions under the law occurred in 2023 when three women were found guilty of performing FGM on eight minors in the Central River Region.
Despite the ban, reports suggest that FGM may be driven underground, with families opting to engage in the practice at younger ages to evade detection. According to the 2019-2020 Demographic and Health Survey, 65 percent of girls in The Gambia undergo FGM before the age of five, with an additional 18 percent facing the procedure between the ages of five and nine. UNICEF estimates that approximately three in four Gambian women have experienced FGM.
Despite the law’s limitations, pressure to repeal it remains substantial. In 2024, a lawmaker’s proposal to overturn the ban prompted widespread protests from women’s rights organizations and activists who warned it could reverse years of progress. The Gambia’s Supreme Islamic Council has supported calls for repeal, claiming that FGM is a cultural and religious practice.
Advocates against FGM assert that the ongoing discussions must focus on the violation of rights that the practice entails. “No custom or belief can justify practices that harm children,” said UNICEF representative Nafisa Binte Shafique.
As the court’s decision approaches, the ruling could have profound implications for the law and the lives of thousands of girls in The Gambia.
Al Jazeera contacted the Ministry of Justice for official comment on the government’s stance but did not receive a response.
For Mariama, the uncertainty is intensely personal. “I just want my daughters to grow up with the choices I never had,” she said. “I hope the court protects girls like them.”
