‘Cut in secret’: Gambia anti-FGM activists fear babies targeted despite ban

Banjul, The Gambia – On a rainy greeting successful aboriginal August, a newborn miss suffering terrible vaginal wounds was rushed to Banjul’s Bundung Maternal and Child Health Hospital. By the clip she was attended to, the doctors could bash thing – the babe had bled to death.

The Gambian authorities person since confirmed that the one-month-old died from injuries linked to pistillate genital mutilation (FGM), a banned signifier successful the tiny West African country.

The lawsuit sent shockwaves done the tiny assemblage of Wellingara, immoderate 17 kilometres (10 miles) from the capital, Banjul, wherever the baby’s household is from. At slightest 3 women from the country were arrested implicit the death, including the idiosyncratic who chopped the child, arsenic good arsenic the baby’s mother.

“She is the unlucky one,” a neighbour said, referring to the infant, her dependable dense with grief. She and the victim’s parent beryllium to the aforesaid osusu, a accepted savings scheme, and the neighbour was contiguous astatine the baby’s naming ceremony, which traditionally takes spot a week aft birth. It was the past clip she saw the infant, she said.

“This is not the archetypal time,” the neighbour, who did not privation to beryllium identified owed to the sensitivity of the case, added. “Babies are chopped successful concealed astir here, immoderate lone a fewer days old. It is heartbreaking, but it keeps happening due to the fact that nary 1 speaks out.”

FGM, which involves afloat oregon partially cutting the pistillate labia and clitoris, often astatine a young property and for non-medical reasons, has been criminalised successful the state for a decade, yet it remains a communal taste practice. Aside from the hazard of death, complications specified arsenic bleeding, infections, vaginal pain, infertility, and post-traumatic accent upset are linked to FGM. More than 144 cardinal women are subjected to FGM crossed Africa, according to the United Nations bureau for children, UNICEF.

The caller lawsuit lays bare the dangers of the ritual and challenges authorities look successful clamping down connected the practice, with this incidental marking a uncommon lawsuit of ineligible enactment successful The Gambia.

Police authorities person launched an probe into the child’s death. Although the baby’s parent has been released connected bail, she could look a good arsenic a suspected accomplice nether The Gambia’s 2015 anti-FGM law, portion the pistillate who chopped the newborn could look beingness imprisonment.

A partition mural reads ‘END FGM’ successful Banjul, The Gambia [Kaddy Jawo/Al Jazeera]

FGM goes underground

FGM is prevalent passim overmuch of Africa, but The Gambia is 1 of the astir affected countries. At slightest 3 successful each 4 Gambian women person undergone ritual cutting, according to UNICEF.

Many mistakenly judge that the signifier discourages intersexual wantonness successful girls, thereby preserving virginity until marriage. Some misconceptions besides see that cutting heightens antheral intersexual pleasance and that it is simply a spiritual rite.

In 2015, The Gambia banned the arguable practice, years aft activists began pressuring Banjul. Those convicted of cutting, according to the law, tin look a three-year jailhouse word oregon a fine, and, successful the lawsuit of death, a beingness sentence. However, galore person opposed the law, including immoderate lawmakers and spiritual leaders successful the Muslim bulk nation, who telephone it an affront to taste and spiritual rights.

In aboriginal 2024, 1 lawmaker proposed a measure to reverse the anti-FGM law. His calls caused wide outrage from activists and rights groups who said years of advocacy enactment would beryllium wasted. The Gambia’s apical spiritual assemblage backed the repeal, though, and called FGM “one of the virtues of Islam”.

Parliament ended up voting against the bill, but pro-FGM advocates person since challenged the determination astatine the Supreme Court. The apical court’s determination is pending.

Most girls are subjected to cutting betwixt infancy and adolescence. Increasingly, though, it seems the 2015 prohibition has pushed those intent connected continuing the signifier to absorption connected cutting children earlier, arsenic one-month-old infants, experts say.

Fatou Baldeh, 1 of The Gambia’s starring advocates against FGM, told Al Jazeera that her nonprofit, Women successful Liberation and Leadership (WILL), began receiving expanding reports astir 3 years agone of families cutting babies arsenic young arsenic a week old.

“They judge younger infants heal much quickly,” Baldeh said. “With the instrumentality successful spot and fearfulness of prosecution, galore besides spot this arsenic a mode to fell the signifier and debar detection,” arsenic healed cuts could beryllium easier to disguise, she added.

Baldeh herself is among the thousands of the Gambian women who person survived FGM. The advocator said she continues to unrecorded with its affectional scars. Her organisation, WILL, aims to eradicate harmful accepted practices similar FGM done assemblage acquisition and by reporting cases to authorities. Accurate statistic connected FGM are hard to obtain, she said, particularly for infants, due to the fact that the signifier is often done successful secrecy and is seldom reported arsenic a transgression since the instrumentality was passed.

“This is precisely wherefore we proceed to punctual communities that FGM is ne'er safe, nary substance the property oregon the setting,” Baldeh added, referring to the caller decease of the baby. “This babe miss was robbed of her beingness earlier she adjacent had a accidental to live. Her decease is not conscionable a calamity but a reflection of a nine that continues to tolerate, excuse, oregon stay soundless astir FGM,” she said.

Safia Ibrahim shows the tools she uses to execute FGM, which she learned astatine the property of 15 and has been practising for 35 years, successful the courtyard of her location successful Hargeisa, Somaliland, a semi-autonomous breakaway portion of Somalia, connected February 7, 2022 [Brian Inganga/AP Photo]

Mothers connected guard

Those who person survived the symptom of FGM accidental it is hard to forget, and that its consequences are lifelong.

Naffie, a parent of three, told Al Jazeera that each her childbirths were traumatic and agonising, and that she often endures aggravated vaginal symptom arsenic a effect of the FGM she was subjected to arsenic a four-year-old. “I person to unrecorded with these scars and this symptom for the remainder of my life,” said the 35-year-old.

Naffie chose to usage lone her archetypal sanction due to the fact that speaking publically astir FGM experiences successful The Gambia often brings stigma.

Many mothers are determined for their daughters to not endure the aforesaid traumatic acquisition that they did and are rejecting unit from household members.

However, girls are besides astatine hazard of being chopped by extended family, without the consent of their parents. In galore Gambian households, families unrecorded successful extended compounds, and children are often considered the work of the wider family, not conscionable their parents. That sometimes leads grandparents, aunts, oregon different relatives to consciousness they person the authorization to marque decisions astir a child, including subjecting girls to FGM.

Some mothers accidental they are perpetually connected edge, wary of leaving their daughters successful the attraction of household members. One of them is Sarjo Tamba, a azygous parent who pledged astatine childbirth to shield her girl from FGM. While connected a concern travel past year, however, her partner’s parent oversaw the cutting of her five-year-old daughter. Sarjo lone discovered the usurpation erstwhile she returned home, astir 2 weeks aft it happened.

“One time portion bathing her I noticed thing antithetic connected her backstage part,” the 34-year-old recounted. “That was erstwhile I realised she had been cut.”

Shocked and heartbroken, Sarjo confronted her partner’s mother, who confessed. The incident, Sarjo said, has near her with heavy symptom and distrust. Although she reported the lawsuit to the police, thing has been done, she said, arsenic officers told her they could not intervene successful a household matter.

Barriers to prosecution

The Gambian authorities person been accused by rights groups of failing to decently prosecute FGM cases and enforce the 2015 ban. By 2024, lone 2 cases were prosecuted successful the 10 years since the instrumentality was passed.

Of those, convictions and sentences person been handed down successful lone 1 case. That was backmost successful August 2023, erstwhile 3 women successful the eastbound Gambian municipality of Bakadaji were fined 15,000 Gambian dalasi ($210) for cutting 3 girls and preparing to chopped different five. All the girls were betwixt 4 and 12 months old.

Since these were the archetypal convictions nether the law, the lawsuit proved arguable arsenic galore influential figures were against the sentencing. A salient imam, Abdoulie Fatty, paid disconnected the accused people’s fines and began vocally calling for the signifier to beryllium legalised.

Modou Musa Sisawo, a spokesperson for The Gambia’s police, blamed the secrecy surrounding FGM and said it was a obstruction to uncovering and prosecuting cases.

“Because FGM is carried retired successful secrecy, the constabulary usually lone go alert of it erstwhile complications arise, arsenic tragically happened with this baby, oregon successful cases of disputes among parents,” Sisawo said. “In astir instances, if determination are nary disposable complications oregon conflicts, the constabulary stay wholly unaware.”

One parent told Al Jazeera it is peculiarly hard to study relatives to the constabulary erstwhile they are liable for the cutting due to the fact that of fearfulness that household members mightiness retaliate. That adds yet different furniture of fearfulness and soundlessness surrounding the practice.

As the proceedings of the 3 accused women successful the latest lawsuit is acceptable to begin, each eyes are besides connected the Supreme Court, which is yet to regularisation connected the aboriginal of the FGM ban. Rights groups and officials, meanwhile, accidental they volition proceed to make consciousness connected the dangers of FGM to forestall much tragedies.

Abdoulie Ceesay, parliament typical for Wellingara constituency, wherever the caller calamity occurred, said helium was shocked to perceive astir the baby’s death. Ceesay said contempt absorption from immoderate spiritual scholars, his bureau continues to attack section women leaders for their enactment successful informing communities astir the dangers of FGM.

“The contented is sensitive,” Ceesay admitted. Some successful the country, helium said, judge advocates are engaged successful a money-making strategy due to the fact that of the planetary backing anti-FGM causes receive. That misconception particularly makes the task harder, helium added.

Despite that, the lawmaker said the enactment goes on. “We proceed to prosecute consenting leaders to dispersed the message,” helium said.