FEMALE CIRCUMCISION (FGM) BANNED IN THE GAMBIA BY THE COUNTRY'S PARLIAMENT

GIRL UNDERGOING CIRCUMCISION

The parliament of the Gambia has passed into law the banning of female circumcision in their country. The members in their numbers backed the bill which provides for a three year imprisonment for offenders.

The act of carrying out circumcision on females is very rampant in Gambia and recently the country’s president Yahya Jammeh came out against it calling it archaic and demanding that it be stopped forthwith. It is expected that the new law by the National Assembly would go a long way in providing for the constitutional rights of the female gender and ensure their good health and wellbeing.

The country’s Vice-President Isatou Njie Saidy spoke to the members of parliament about the administration’s regards for the promotion of the general wellbeing of the women and girl child which he said led to its stance on the abolition of female genital mutilation, FGM. Earlier on in November President Jammeh had come out to state that not only was the practice harmful but it was also not one of the tenets of Islam which is now the official religion of the country. Islam is the faith of 95% of the Gambia’s population.

There were cases of some dissension in the Gambia’s parliament but this was insignificant to cause any concerns for the passage of the law which is viewed as most progressive by the majority and should soon be signed into law by the president. Hopefully, this should bring relief to the female gender in a country which the WHO states has about 75% of its women as having undergone FGM.

This harmful practice believed in the past to curb promiscuity among the female gender though never proved to be effective is widespread not only in the Gambia but in many parts of African and the middle east involves the removal of a portion of the female sexual organ mostly done by untrained persons and in unhygienic conditions. It has been known to result in harm to the victims leaving them with many health conditions such as infections and infertility, etc.

It has been reported that FGM has been carried out on more than 125 million women all over the world mostly in their younger ages leaving them with the trauma for the rest of their lives.

All over the world, with better understanding, the practice is being addressed and hopefully it would be phased out. Not only has the practice been known to offer any advantages but its harmful effects are very well known. It calls for a personal fight by everybody in the quest to stop it. Please contribute to the fight against it in any way you can.