By Enyichukwu Enemanna
The Parliament in Gambia has defied pressure from some Muslim clerics and threw out a bill seeking the annulment of the 2015 ban on female genital mutilation (FGM).
A majority of MPs had voted against the bill even before its third and final reading coming up later this month, Speaker of the Parliament, Ms Fabakary Tombong Jatta had stated.
The bill presented before the Parliament by Almameh Gibba, was rejected after lawmakers voted against all the clauses contained therein.
Civil society organisations, right groups and the UN had urged the parliamentarians to block the bill, which was introduced in March arising from external influence from religious groups.
The Speaker said the bill had been “rejected and the legislative process exhausted”, and therefore it could not move to the third reading.
Heritage Times HT reports that when the bill was introduced in March, it received the backing of overwhelming majority of MPs, raising concern that The Gambia may become the first country the reverse a ban on the practice.
The procedure involves the removal of a sensitive part of the female genital, the clitoris.
It is aimed at curtailing the sexual urge of the female in order to prevent them from being promiscuous.
The Gambia is among the 10 countries with the highest rates of FGM, with 73% of women and girls aged 15 to 49 having undergone the procedure.
The 2015 ban introduced fines and jail terms of up to three years for perpetrators, and life sentences if a girl died as a result.
FGM is banned in more than 70 countries globally but continues to be practised particularly in Muslim-majority countries, such as The Gambia.
