In order to protect young girls and the dignity of women, President of the Republic of Gambia, Yahya Jammeh, has announced a complete ban on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) across the country.
This milestone announcement was made by the ultra-conservative leader of the country during a rally held in the southern village of Kanilai, near the border with Senegal.
He said “FGM is a traditional practice. We could have allowed it to continue if it was a religious practice but it is not. Female circumcision is banned in Gambia from Kartong to Koina..
He also revealed that he has spent years conducting research on FGM from the religious perspective, but it showed that the practice had no religious basis.
He added that “For 21 years, I have been researching from the Qur’an and consulting religious leaders whether female circumcision is mentioned in the Qur’an but I did not find it there.”
According to him, for 21 years, he has seen Gambian women succumb to fistula, cervical cancer and also dying in labour due to FGM. He warned that if any person is found practicing the act now, the circumciser, as well as that village’s head and parents of the female child will face consequences.
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