All posts tagged: Gambia

Gambia parliament moves to overturn ban on female genital cutting

Gambia parliament moves to overturn ban on female genital cutting

Published by Sam

BANJUL, Gambia — Gambia’s National Assembly has voted to advance a bill that would overturn a ban on female genital cutting, putting this tiny West African country on a path to being the first nation in the world to roll back such a protection. Many of the women who filed into the National Assembly building on Monday to witness the proceedings had experienced the horror that comes with cutting, which has been practiced for generations here. One woman said she was taken by her family at age 8 to a ceremony in which she was pinned down and cut. Another learned on her wedding night that her vaginal opening had been sealed. A third experienced years of infections and later infertility after being cut without her parents’ permission. The women listened stoically as members of parliament — the vast majority of them men — pounded their gavels in support as Almameh Gibba, the lawmaker who introduced the bill, described it as intended to “uphold religious rights and safeguard cultural norms and values.” The ban on …

Gambian MPs Advance Bill Lifting Ban on Female Genital Mutilation

Gambian MPs Advance Bill Lifting Ban on Female Genital Mutilation

Published by skeptic

Gambian lawmakers voted on Monday to advance to the next parliamentary stage a highly controversial bill that seeks to lift a ban on female genital mutilation (FGM), which has been in place since 2015. The issue has divided the tiny West African nation for months, with hundreds gathering to protest outside parliament. Pro-FGM campaigners outnumbered those calling for the ban to remain in place, according to AFP journalists. “The bill seeks to uphold religious loyalty and safeguard cultural norms and values,” Almameh Gibba, the lawmaker who introduced the bill, said during the debate. “The use of a ban on female circumcision is direct violation of the citizens’ rights to practice their culture and religion,” he added. But activists and rights organizations say the suggested legislation reverses years of progress and risks damaging the country’s human rights record. “There’s the inherent risk that this is just the first step and it could lead to the rollback of other rights such as the law on child marriage… and not just in The Gambia but in the region …

Gambia Votes to Overturn Landmark Ban on Female Genital Cutting

Gambia Votes to Overturn Landmark Ban on Female Genital Cutting

Published by Sam

Gambian lawmakers have voted to advance a measure revoking a ban on female genital cutting by removing legal protections for millions of girls, raising fears that other countries could follow suit. Of the 47 members of the Gambia National Assembly present on Monday, 42 voted to send a bill to overturn the ban onward to a committee for consideration before a final vote. Human rights experts, lawyers and women’s and girls’ rights campaigners say that overturning the ban would undo decades of work to end female genital cutting, a centuries-old ritual tied up in ideas of sexual purity, obedience and control. If the bill passes the final stages, the small West African nation of Gambia will become the first nation globally to roll back protections against cutting. Government committees will be able to propose amendments before it comes back to Parliament for a final reading in about three months — but analysts say that it has now passed the key stage: Its proponents will gain momentum and it will probably become law. Gambia banned cutting …

Senegal begin title defence in style with 3-0 win over 10-man Gambia

Senegal begin title defence in style with 3-0 win over 10-man Gambia

Published by skeptic

YAMOUSSOUKRO :Senegal began their Africa Cup of Nations title defence with a 3-0 victory over 10-man Gambia helped by Lamine Camara’s double in Group C on Monday, bringing an end to a sequence of surprise results at the tournament in the Ivory Coast. After a shock-filled Sunday where the minnows had the upper hand over heavyweight opponents, Senegal restored faith in the form book as Pape Gueye scored early and Camara added two more to ensure victory in the opening Group C encounter. Gueye put Senegal ahead in the fourth minute at the Charles Konan Banny Stadium, while 20-year-old Camara, voted Young African Player of the Year in 2023, underlined his promise with a fine finish seven minutes after the break and a sublime second into the top corner four minutes from time. Gambia were reduced to 10 men when Ebou Adams was sent off for a needless stamp on Camara in stoppage time at the end of the first half, leaving Gambia on the back foot for the second period. But they were already …