(Tuesday 15th October 2019 Issue)
Gambia
Committee on Harmful Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and
Girl-child (GAMCOTRAP), last week sensitized Wuli West religious scholars on
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and other forms of harmful traditional
practices at Wuli Taibatu, URR.
Funded
by UNFPA, the activity brought together 50 religious scholars aimed to
accelerate the abandonment of FGM and other forms of harmful traditional
practices such as Early/ Force Marriages and Gender Based Violence. The project
focuses in Wuli West, Wuli East and Sandu districts.
Princess
Adine MunaHot, public health, gender and mediation specialist, said the forum
was geared towards implementing the organization’s 2019 UNFPA programme, with
focus on community outreach campaigns to raise the awareness of the masses to
contribute in the elimination of FGM in the aforementioned districts.
“Women are victims of these forms of violence
in the community. And most of these forms of violence are associated with
customs and other social issues,” she said.
Madam
MunaHot, who is also GAMCOTRAP project coordinator commended chiefs and other
influential persons within the districts for their active participation and
support to GAMCOTRAP‘s mandate.
The
women right activist expressed gratitude to UNFPA for funding the project,
saying their contribution to national development is recognized and
appreciated.
In
a sideline interview, Musa Jallow, GAMCOTRAP head of finance said the
organization embarked on enlightening the people of the region because research
has shown that FGM practice is still ongoing in the zone. “Therefore, GAMCOTRAP
deems it fit to enlighten the inhabitants on FGM health complications.”
Mr.
Jallow called on the participants to seek for more knowledge concerning FGM
health complication and change their attitudes toward harmful traditional
practices to ensure women and girl-child wellbeing in the society.
“I’m
appealing to stakeholders to come to the field and double up their efforts to
ensure that the advocacy campaign is reinforced to less privilege areas. If you
get to some communities, they will tell you that GAMCOTRAP is the only
organization that comes here or invited them to a programme,” he said.
He
added that it would be relevant for organizations and partners to engage more
rural communities on FGM sensitization so as to equip people with the right
information about these harmful practices.
“There is need for religious scholars to clear the doubt about FGM and
Islam to the general public hence they have confessed that it’s not a religious
obligation as many thought.”
Imam
Mamadou Siragi Bah, a participant said there is no verse in the Holy Qur’an
that indicates that FGM is a religious obligation, describing it as a “Sunnah.”
He
said he can’t tell people to stop or continue practicing FGM but noted that
Islam has ‘a no harm principle,’ that states that one should neither harm his/
her fellow human nor allow to be harmed.
Malick
Baldeh, GAMCOTRAP regional coordinator for URR appealed to all and sundry to
end FGM in the society, saying that it is harmful to women and girl-child.
