The increasing concerns of majority affected Gambian women and the public regarding undue influence of western donors, UN Agencies and other external organizations, and the actions of certain National Assembly Members in regards to the Women’s Amendment Bill (2023.)
The aim of the conference was geared towards putting “an end to external pressure on The Gambia to uphold a Female Circumcision ban, redirect the attention of National Assembly Members to the evidence base of claims made by anti-FGM activists about the supposed life-threatening harms of Female Circumcision as practiced in The Gambia, and purported sexual oppression or subjugation of women through the practice.
GWA-FC through their efforts clarified issues of representation of who has the legal, moral and actual right to represent the multitude of views and voices of the women of The Gambia on Female Circumcision, a practice affecting their bodies and lives, as well as their personal and parental autonomy.
Dr. Fuambai Sia Ahmadu, a specialist in her briefing clarified the terminology of Female Circumcision as a cultural practice that upholds the tradition, religious and cultural belieefs in Gambian society.
She laid emphasis on the invasion of Western culture, criminalising Female Circumcision by co-relating it to Female Genital Mutilation.
According to her, “FGM does not exist in The Gambia as ‘Mutilation’ simply signifies a damage or when something is totally destroyed. She condoned the word FGM, saying it does not define the practice of Female Circumcision.
She added that: “We believe that the current Female Circumcision ban contrevins our constitutional and basic Universal Human Rights to equality, dignity and self determination/definition - the ability or the right for us as African women, as Muslim women to decide for ourselves, who we are, our identity and our faith.”
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