9 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –
A Gambian parliamentary committee has recommended that the law banning female genital mutilation, introduced in 2015, be upheld after a parliamentarian submitted a petition to repeal it, amid criticism from various non-governmental organisations against the MP’s proposal.
The Health and Gender Commission has said in a report that it recommends that the law be upheld and has maintained that it has consulted “experts” in the matter. “The law should be maintained to prohibit female circumcision in all its forms,” it said.
She stressed that repealing the law would expose women and girls to “serious health risks” and violate their right to physical and mental well-being, adding that this practice “has been consistently linked to numerous health complications,” according to the Gambian newspaper ‘The Standard’.
The commission also said that female genital mutilation “perpetuates gender inequalities and discrimination against women and girls” and added that “by maintaining the ban, The Gambia can reaffirm its commitment to gender equality and promote social development by challenging harmful cultural norms and practices.”
The motion for repeal, submitted by MP Almamy Gibba, cited religious equality and the protection of norms and values as grounds, saying the existing ban infringes on citizens’ constitutional rights to practice their culture and religion.
Any legalisation would violate several conventions ratified by Gambia (the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child). It would also violate the principle of “equal dignity of the person” guaranteed in the Gambian Constitution.
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