By Omar Bah
Over 30 National Assembly Members and a good number of support staff have travelled to Egypt yesterday on a benchmarking tour on female genital mutilation, The Standard has been reliably informed.
A bill, introduced by Foni Kansala NAM Almameh Gibba seeking to repeal the ban on FGM, is currently with the Joint Committee of Health and Gender for consultation and consideration before a final vote. The committee has since received position papers from several organisations, both pro and against FGM and is now set to extend its consultations beyond Gambia’s borders.
A correspondence from the Assembly administration to the NAMs informing them about the trip seen by The Standard reads: “The Joint Committee of Health and Gender of the National Assembly, with support from partners, intends to undertake a benchmark visit to the Arab Republic of Egypt, including some members on the practice of Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting (FGM/C), with the aim of learning comparative studies on the matter in Egypt”.
The visit, which was initially planned for 3 June but moved to 9 June, is entirely funded by undisclosed partners of the National Assembly.
The delegation will visit the famous Al-Azar University, where many Gambian scholars studied, the Supreme Islamic Council of Egypt as well as the National Assembly and health ministries of Egypt.
The Standard has been reliably informed that the trip may be funded by anti-FGM campaigners who have succeeded in mobilising a good number of deputies to vote against the proposed bill but our source denied that.
