from MOMODOU DIBBA in Banjul, The Gambia
Gambia Bureau
BANJUL, (CAJ News) – THE humanitarian community has welcomed the decision by The Gambia to maintain a ban on female genital mutilation (FGM).
This is hailed as a reaffirmation of the West African country’s commitment to human rights, gender equality and the protection of the health and well-being of girls and women.
Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Catherine Russell; UN population Fund Director, Natalia Kanem; World Health Organisation Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus; UN Women Executive Director, Sima Bahous; and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, lauded The Gambia.
The envoys said the decision to maintain the ban on FGM was in line with Gambia’s regional and international commitments to prevent harmful practices against girls and women, as well as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, and the Maputo Protocol for the Protection of the Rights of African Women.
“In addition to recognizing this important decision by the national parliament, we commend the tireless efforts of survivors, activists, civil society organizations and faith-based groups to eliminate FGM,” the envoys stated.
“Maintaining the ban is one way to uphold these community-based initiatives, which are critical to eliminating all forms of violence against girls and women (including harmful practices) and ensuring a safer and healthier future for girls and women in The Gambia and around the world.”
FGM is the partial or complete cutting or removal of the external female genitalia.
Experts denounce that this practice, which is carried out mainly on infants and young girls, can cause serious short- and long-term physical and psychological damage, including infections, post-traumatic stress disorder and pregnancy complications.
– CAJ News