A 4-year-old girl has been subjected to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) by her aunt without consulting the child’s mother, who would later report the matter to the police.
The distraught mother, however, said police investigations into the matter are so far slow.
FGM is banned in The Gambia, but despite the ban, the harmful practice is believed to be continuing in the country.
Statistics show almost three-quarters of women aged 15 to 49 have undergone the practice, with 65% of them being cut when they were younger.
In a rare move since the law banning FGM came to force, three women were convicted by a magistrate’s court in the Central River Region in August 2023 for performing the operation on eight girls. They were fined 15,000 dalasi each, in default, they would serve one-year imprisonment. The conviction was challenged by some religious leaders who traveled to meet the women and paid the fines imposed on them by the court.
A countrywide debate ensued, resulting in attempts by some members of parliament to repeal the law banning FGM. The attempt failed when a parliamentary majority voted July 2024 to maintain the law.
But this recent suspected FGM case involving a young girl highlights the ongoing challenge to protect girls from this harmful tradition. Research shows that cultural pressure and misinformation are key in promoting the practice of FGM in The Gambia.
Child protection agencies and organizations, as well as activists stress the need for education and community engagement at grassroot levels to eradicate this practice and protect girls’ rights.
New case
Fear of reprisals and isolation by family members have resulted to people failing to report FGM cases to the police.
“I am still angry with myself for trusting these people with my child. They were supposed to protect and not harm her. That is what I expected from them, but they have failed my trust because they want to protect some cultural values,” Alima (not her real name), mother of the girl, narrated.
The outraged young mother, who separated from her husband before the incident, said that her 4-year-old daughter was circumcised while she was in Senegal. The young mother detected her daughter’s ordeal when she started complaining about some complications because of infections caused by the procedure.
“Only God knows how I felt that day and every other day,” she said, tears rolling on her cheeks.
“When I learnt of the incident, I reported the matter to the police, but I was told the officer in charge of such cases was not available, and I was asked to come back the next day. I decided to go to the Police station, but the officer in charge at the time wasn’t nice to me,” she said.
When the mother turned up at the police station for support, she said the officer asked his subordinates to write a small note to take her daughter to the Kanifing General Hospital for examination.
“They said they cannot go with me to the hospital because the incident did not happen in the Kanifing municipality area, so I needed to go to a police station in the West Coast Region where the suspected FGM took place for them to open the case there,” she noted.
The woman recalled how she was harassed by some individuals during her attempt to seek justice for her child.
“I had a horrible experience trying to get justice for my daughter. I never wish for any mother to go through what I have gone through,” she said.
She added that after trying many avenues, she resorted to contacting some anti-FGM activist for help.
“One of them offered support and went together with me to the police station and reported the matter, but until today, the police have not done anything about it,” she said.
UNFPA published a report revealing an estimated 73 percent of Gambian women and girls have undergone FGM, adding the practice is more prevalent in some regions where it can be as high as 95 percent.
The UN agency warns that a key challenge is not only protecting girls who are currently at risk but also ensuring that those to be born in the future will be free from the dangers of the practice.
The Gambia is said to be among the top 10 countries with the highest rates of FGM, according to UNICEF.
The Gambia’s demographic and health survey (DHS) 2019-2020 also revealed that the FGM prevalence rate in the Gambia is 76 percent.
This reporter contacted the Public Relations Officer of the Gambia Police Force, Cadet-ASP Modou Musa Sisawo, about the matter.
He promised to enquire about the case and get back to us, but up to the time of going to press, he could not get us any more information.
When contacted for comments, Kaddijatou Colley, a social worker working with the One-Stop-Centre Network in Brikama, confirmed that the center was aware of the case.
“When the case was reported here, they were in need of medical attention, and I escorted them for medical examination at the labor ward in Brikama,” she said.
She added that upon arrival at the hospital, the doctor wrote it down that the child was subjected to FGM type 1 in the both the police report book and that of my report book as well,” she added.
“However, despite this evidence, the police have not yet pressed any charges against the alleged perpetrators,” she added.
Fallu Sowe, the National Coordinator of Network Against Gender Based Violence, said as an organization, NGBV came to know about the case when the mother took her to their one-stop center at Brikama District Hospital for medical and psychosocial care.
“I would like to clarify that this case was reported just around the time the FGM saga started, and that may have contributed to the delay by the authorities to ensure justice was done. However, hence the Women’s Amendment Act 2015, which criminalises FGM/C or female circumcision, has been maintained by the National Assembly. I hope the responsible authorities will take necessary action to ensure justice is served,” Fallu stated.
To ensure the child gets justice, NGBV National Coordinator, Sowe, advised that the responsible authorities should take the necessary action and prosecute the case.
He also urged Gambians to respect and adhere to all the laws of the country, including the law prohibiting FGM/C, or female circumcision to avoid the legal implications.
Dr. Seedy Jaw, a medical doctor who examined the girl, confirmed the case but wished not to make any further comments, referring us to contact the police.
We also contacted the Female Lawyers’ Association of the Gambia, a civil society organization supporting women and girls on legal aid. It’s lawyer in charge of the case, confirmed that they were aware of this case but she cannot talk to the media about it because she didn’t believe in talking to the newspapers about cases.
Fatou Baldeh, the founder and CEO of Women in Liberation and Leadership (WILL), was also contacted, and she said she was aware of the case and is in touch with the mother and her child.
In the wake of the threat to repeal the law banning FGM earlier this year, UNFPA has accelerated its efforts, committing more resources in protecting girls from the harmful practice of FGM. They have since engaged several partners including NGOs and CBOs to sensitize communities about FGM to ensure that all girls in The Gambia remain protected.
