The National Assembly member for Foni Kansala, Almamy Gibba, has Monday
tabled before the country’s lawmaking body a pro-female genital mutilation (FGM) rights bill that seeks to overturn the legislation banning the traditional practice.
“This Bill seeks to lift the ban on female circumcision in The Gambia, a practice deeply rooted in the ethnic, traditional, cultural, and religious beliefs of the majority of the Gambian people,” reads the women (amendment) bill sponsored by the Foni Kansala parliamentarian and seen JollofNews.
Led by Imam Fatty, hundreds of pro-female circumcision activists stormed the National Assembly and its surroundings to demand the lifting of the 2015 legislation outlawing the practice. The protesters were holdings signs with powerful messages such as “Female circumsion is our religious belief”,
“Female circumcision is in line with Sunnah, the Islamic tradition,” Binta Ceesay told JollofNews as other protesters kept on chanting “Allahu Akbar.”
Similar sentiments were re-echoed by Imam Fatty who further stated that the practice has no disastrous consequences on the health of the girl child.
The session was subsequently adjourned till March 18, 2024 for the bill to be submitted for second reading.
