Mrs Jallow, believed to be in her fifties, was contacted for comment after many girls, believed to be scores in number, were circumcised yesterday.
“I can’t stop this, apart from this being my main source of survival, our culture and religion strongly advise us to do it. I can’t talk much today because as you can see I am very busy, come another time for a proper interview,” she said.
Many girls, some as young as one year old were circumcised. Many parts of the Kombo northern town were in festive mood as families celebrate the rites of passage with drumming, colourful dancing and the cooking of ceremonial Jollof rice, benechin, on giant pots.
Some of the women who spoke to this newspaper said they have not experienced anything destructive about female circumcision and that they circumcised their daughters with the consent of their husbands and family members. Most of them concurred that “it is better” to circumcised the girls when they are younger.
Organisations like Gamcotrap have been waging spirited campaigns against what they call, female genital mutilation. They have registered many successes even in rural Gambia and have attracted many Islamic religious leaders to their cause who have clarified that the practice is not an obligatory Islamic fiat.
Author: Kebba Camara
]]>
