The parliament in Gambia has passed a for the second reading, a bill that seeks to decriminalize Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), Africa Today News, New York reports.
Though FGM was criminalized in The Gambia in 2015, some seeking to overturn the ban argue that it violates religious freedom and is against the country’s cultural practices.
The bill will now go to a committee of MPs for further legislative work.
Survivors of FGM and activists had hoped it would be thrown out. They said that not only did the practice cause lifelong damage but it was also against a woman’s right to bodily autonomy.
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They have also argued that removing the ban on FGM would tarnish The Gambia’s human rights record.
There was a heated debate in parliament but in the end 42 members voted for the bill, four voted against, while one abstained.
Despite the ban being in place since 2015 it was not until convictions in 2023, when several women were jailed for performing FGM, did calls to reverse the ban gain momentum.
According to a recent survey, 73% of women in The Gambia have undergone FGM with 65% of those cut being under the age of five.
If the bill is passed, The Gambia would be the first country to have reversed a ban on FGM.
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) involves the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.
It is classified by experts into four major types, namely:
Type 1 is the partial or total removal of the glans clitoris (the external and visible part of the clitoris, which is a sensitive part of the female genitals), and/or the prepuce/ clitoral hood (the fold of skin surrounding the clitoris).
Type 2 is the partial or total removal of the glans clitoris and the labia minora (the inner folds of the vulva), with or without removal of the labia majora (the outer folds of skin of the vulva ).