Gambia top court hears case to overturn female genital mutilation ban
The Gambia has one of the highest rates of FGM in the world, with 73 percent of women and girls aged 15 to 49 having undergone the procedure, according to 2024 figures from UNICEF.
Female genital mutilation was outlawed in 2015 in Gambia. (AFP)
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BANJUL - The Gambia's Supreme Court began hearing a case this week brought by religious traditionalists who are hoping to topple the country's poorly enforced ban on female genital mutilation.
The Gambia has one of the highest rates of FGM in the world, with 73 percent of women and girls aged 15 to 49 having undergone the procedure, according to 2024 figures from UNICEF.
FGM was outlawed in 2015 in the small, west African nation by then dictator Yahya Jammeh, who branded it outdated and not a requirement of Islam.
The ban was subsequently upheld in July 2024 when lawmakers rejected a controversial bill, introduced by independent MP Almameh Gibba, seeking to overturn the law.
Gibba and seven other plaintiffs filed an appeal with the Supreme Court in April, arguing that the procedure is a deeply rooted cultural and religious practice.
At the hearing, which heard its first witness Wednesday, state counsel Adama Okete said that FGM was no longer compatible with modern human rights.
"The consent of victims is not sought before these procedures", he said, adding that parliament's "decision to protect women and children must be respected".
Imam Abdoulie Fatty, a plaintiff with the Islamic Enlightenment Society, argued that female circumcision is different from FGM and said circumcision is supported by Islam.
"Those who do not want to do it should not be forced. Those who want to do it should be allowed", he told the five justices presiding over the case.
The hearing over the matter, which deeply divides public opinion in the Muslim-majority country, will resume on Monday.
FGM involves the partial or total removal of the female external genitalia or other injuries to the female genital organs.
It can lead to serious health problems, including infections, bleeding, infertility and complications in childbirth.
The deaths of two baby girls in recent months have gained widespread attention after being linked to FGM.
In August one of the girls, a one-month-old, was pronounced dead upon arrival at a hospital in the capital Banjul after being "allegedly subjected to circumcision" and developing severe bleeding, according to The Gambia Police Force.