In Gambia, several dozen people demonstrated in front of the National Assembly in Banjul. For the second time this month, this Monday, March 18, deputies were considering a bill aimed at once again authorizing excision.
2 mins
From the morning, around a hundred demonstrators and survivors – women who have undergone excision – gathered in front of the National Assembly, with banners and signs displaying a message: “ Don’t revoke the law against female genital mutilation! »
This Monday was the second examination of the bill from Alamameh Gibba, the independent deputy who presented this new text, justifying that banning excision ” violates the rights of citizens to practice their culture and religion “. Its text should not be voted on this Monday, it must first be examined in a parliamentary committee, before a possible new reading in the Assembly.
However, for Anna Njie, president of the Gambia Women Lawyers Association, this bill is already, in itself, a blow to the emancipation of women.
“ I am really disappointed because we have done so much work to promote the rights of women and girls. It could truly be said that The Gambia complied with international law and treaties. Now, we must fight to permanently remove this bill, and not just to delay its adoption to have it examined in committee. This commission is made up of experts who will have to rule on the question and the chances that the law criminalizing excision will be amended are very great. This criminalization can be weakened or simply removed », she warns.
Last year, according to Unicef, 73% of Gambian women aged 15 to 49 were excised. These are two points less than in 2015, the year of the ban on female genital mutilation in The Gambia.
Read alsoIn Gambia, excision is outlawed