Amid intensifying debates over the repeal of the contentious FGM law, the Ngang-Sanneh Institute, together with 79 notable Gambians comprising medical doctors, lawyers, engineers, rights activists, and journalists, have submitted a petition to President Adama Barrow and the National Assembly’s clerk regarding plans to annul the current FGM legislation.
In a petition letter seen by TAT, the group expresses their dismay at the Parliament’s efforts to repeal the law, which they believe infringes upon the rights of women and girls in the nation.
Among the notable petitioners are the two former vice presidents of Dr. Isatou Touray, Aja Fatoumatta Jallow Tambajang, former Information Minister Demba Ali Jawo, anti-FGM advocates Jaha Dukureh and Fatou Baldeh, former TRRC Executive Secretary Dr. Baba Galleh Jallow, prominent human rights defender Madi Jobarteh, urologist Prof. James Ndow, former Gambia Bar Association President Salieu Taal, Prof. Amina Sillah of the United States, renowned women’s rights activist Fatou Jagne Senghore, and former TRRC Vice Chairwoman Ms. Adelaide Sosseh, among others.
“We, the undersigned, believe that safeguarding the rights and protecting the health and safety of women and girls is one of the most important functions of government.
We therefore support maintaining the Women’s Act of December 28, 2015, which makes provisions for banning Female Genital Mutilation. We believe that repealing or amending such an Act will be a bad decision by the National Assembly, that will reverse the many years of social progress Gambian women and girls have enjoyed since the passing of the Act,” the group said in thier letter to Barrow and National Assembly.
“We believe that the religious arguments being made for repealing the Act are not supported by sound references to the Bible or the Quran or in sound Hadith. The respected late Grand Mufti of Al Azhar University (the highest seat of Islamic learning), Mohamed Sayed Tantawi, argued against FGM; so did a recent Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, and that it has no sound basis in the Quran and the Sunnah/Hadith. Both the Bible and the Quran prescribe circumcision only for men but not for women. For those who make references to a weak Hadith, we argue that none of the Prophet Mohammad’s wives nor his daughters practiced FGM. If Muslim women are to look for an example consistent with their faith, then those are the best examples. We should also note that Islam operated in a pagan milieu, and so archaic practices in those early days, such as FGM/C, had to be gradually abolished.”
“Therefore, recognizing that FGM has no sound basis in the teachings of the major faiths existing in The Gambia; that it is harmful to women’s health and safety; (The practice has no health benefits for girls and women and causes severe bleeding and problems during urination, and later cysts, infections, as well as complications in childbirth and increased risk of newborn deaths. Also, the long-term consequences of FGM/C are the formation of abscesses and genital ulcers, chronic reproductive tract infections, chronic back and pelvic pain, and urinary tract infections). FGM/C is an archaic social practice overall. We, the undersigned, petition our people’s representatives, the National Assembly, and President Barrow to exercise one of their most sacred duties with responsibility and care to ensure that the FGM/C ban is maintained.
