04/10/2023
The raging debate on the pros and cons of Female Ge***al Mutilation (FGM) and the call by some people for the repeal of the law banning it, is certainly not doing any good to the Gambiaβs reputation as a respecter of international protocols.
Recalling the laws Gambia government have ratified, Gambians are aware that the country has signed and ratified, virtually, all the conventions and other international instruments that have called for the banning of such unnecessary and harmful traditional practices like FGM/FC, such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), all of which infringe on the rights and welfare of women and girls.
It is obligatory on the government to ensure the implementation of those laws without any unnecessary reservations. On the impacts of Female Ge***al Mutilation, the former Information Minister added that it has been proven beyond any reasonable doubt that FGM causes great short-term and long-term physical and mental harm to its victims, and it is hard to understand how anyone would not only defend but also advocate for the continuation of such a harmful practice. Contrary to the views held by the Supreme Islamic Council (SIC), there is very little connection between Islam and FGM, apart from the fact that a majority of those who still practice it are found in Muslim-majority countries.
It is a well-known fact that Female Ge***al Mutilation is a tradition that predates Islam, and according to those Islamic scholars who do not assume any fiduciary interest on the issue, there is nowhere in the Quran where it is mentioned, let alone justified. I referred to an article that was published in 2015, titled, ''Women in Islam Journal in 2025'', which states: βWhile there is clear support in the Sunnah (Prophet Muhammadβs teachings and actions) for male circumcision in Islam, there is no evidence for FGM/Circumcision. There are strong stipulations in Islam that uphold the sanctity of the human body; causing harm to the human body without any religious justification is strictly prohibited.
I asked the Supreme Islamic Council on why would the Fatwa and Moon Sighting Committee of the Supreme Islamic Council which seems to comprise of only men who have no personal experience of the effect of the practice on its victims, not only assume the right to speak on behalf of the women and girls of this country, but to also issue a Fatwa against those fighting for the rights of those marginalized women and girls? such belligerence and intolerance that the SIC have treated the issue, they are not only devaluing their role in the shaping of the morals of the society, but they also seem to be losing the moral high ground that they were supposed to occupy on the matter.
It is even quite disappointing, considering the caliber and high esteem that some members of the SIC are held in the society, that they would subscribe to the so-called Fatwa that was issued against the advocates of the continuous ban on FGM. He said the Fatwa Supreme Islamic Council did was uncalled for and unnecessary. People expected the members of SIC to be more tolerant in their dealings with Gambians with different views from theirs.
