Gambia Postpones Vote to Repeal FGM Ban

Women's rights remain under threat in Gambia after parliament decided to postpone a vote on upholding the ban on female genital mutilation .

According to the AFP news agency, hundreds of people were seen protested outside parliament on Monday, with most supporting a repeal of the ban on FGM. These were the first convictions under the law. Prior to this, only two people had been arrested and one case brought to court,This is despite nearly three out of four girls and women, or 73%, having undergone female genital mutilation in Gambia, according to official figures.

"Who has the right to interfere in what Allah had created, and who has the right to define how a woman should look?" Touray But for Fatima Jarju, an FGM survivor who sensitizes women in Gambia to the harms of the procedure, the ongoing debate on the issue is causing further damage to women's rights: The strategies she uses include the development of rites of passage for girls that don't involve cutting, finding alternative livelihoods for the cutters and intense community engagement."Generally, in Africa, people make laws to satisfy their donor partners. But when it comes to implementation, they are not implemented," she told DW.

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Amnesty International urges Gambia's parliament to vote against bill reversing ban on FGMAmnesty International's senior researcher expresses concern over the upcoming vote in Gambia's parliament on a bill to reverse the ban on female genital mutilation (FGM), stating that it would set a dangerous precedent for women's rights and tarnish Gambia's human rights record. The organization urges parliament to vote against the bill and calls on the Gambian government to address the root causes of FGM and implement comprehensive policies for women and girls' empowerment.
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Gambia Lawmakers Move Forward On Bill to Reverse FGM BanGambian lawmakers voted 42 in favor and four against to send the FGM ban reversal bill to a parliamentary committee. Activists warn that the bill will harm Gambia's human rights record and roll back years of progress.
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