In her testimony, Mariama Njie told the court she was circumcised as a child, a tradition passed down through her family, adding: “My grandmother did it and gave it to my mother, and my mother gave it to me,” she said.
She explained that she later became a circumciser herself, performing the procedure on girls using razor blades sterilised in boiling water. According to her, the practice was considered part of Islamic tradition and cultural upbringing.
“The importance that I know is that it is important in Islam, and we know it is part of raising our kids. Islam doesn’t prohibit it, and it has benefits,” she testified.
Njie claimed she never experienced health complications from FGM and insisted that neither her children nor family members suffered harm. She expressed surprise at the government’s ban, saying: “We were surprised when we heard it was banned. We always think that when it comes to ‘Sunnah’ and in our deen (Islam,) why should it be banned?”
Method of Practice
She described the process as cutting a small part of the clitoris, which she referred to as “cleaning.” She said children recovered quickly and resumed playing within hours, adding: “Circumcision was often accompanied by cultural training, teaching girls respect for elders and social behaviour.”
Cross-Examination
Under cross examination by Counsel Okeke, Njie admitted she practised female circumcision for about 15 years before stopping during Jammeh’s presidency, while denying ever witnessing deaths from the practice, though acknowledging hearing of a recent case involving a child.
She conceded that injuries were inevitable: “You cannot remove anything from a human body without injury.” She insisted female circumcision has benefits, claiming it could improve a child’s health: “When a child gets sick all the time, if you take the child for circumcision, she gets better.”
Counsel Y. Senghore also cross examined the witness, Njie confirmed that ceremonies once accompanied female circumcision but said this tradition has faded. She stated girls could be circumcised at birth or before adolescence, as culture discouraged girls from growing older without undergoing the procedure. She revealed that she sometimes circumcised 30 to 40 children in a single day.
When also cross examined by Counsel L.K. Mboge, the witness acknowledged that parliament had debated the issue. She admitted girls did not give consent to the procedure, and that she was unable to provide records of how many children she circumcised, saying: “I can’t tell because I have no records.”
