The Gambia may allow female genital mutilation again, another sign of a global trend eroding women’s rights

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The Gambia may allow female ******** mutilation again, another sign of a global trend eroding women’s rights

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

The Gambia’s ban on

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since 2015 is

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. Proposed changes before parliament could permit

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female ******** cutting and allow it for consenting adults.

This potential reversal has thrust the country into the

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as the latest example of the backlash against gender equality.

The Gambia’s criminalization of FGM was not the first in west ******* but it came as a surprise. The president at the time, Yahya Jammeh, declared the

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a non-religious practice that caused harm. There was some dissent within the country but human rights groups

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the ban.

Jammeh, who was president from 1994 to 2016, also oversaw the passage of other progressive gender-related laws. The

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provided a framework for combating domestic ********* in all its forms (physical, *******, emotional, economic) and protection in particular for women and children. The

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expanded the definition of *****, broadened the circumstances in which individuals could be charged, and reduced the burden of proof in prosecutions.

Jammeh also

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child marriages in 2016. This was significant in country where

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are married.

In

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, these reforms were all central to international donor interests. And they helped to improve the country’s democratic reputation. But at the same time, they made it easy for the

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leader to get away with other excesses. He also mobilized religion to manipulate beliefs and sentiments, particularly affecting ****** and women. For example, Jammeh

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that female government workers wear veils or headscarves when he declared his

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country an Islamic state in 2016.

President Adama Barrow, Jammeh’s successor, has emphasized religious tolerance and has refrained from employing religious symbolism. Unlike the state-sponsored homophobia under the Jammeh regime, Barrow has downplayed homosexuality as a “

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.”

I am a legal scholar and human rights practitioner with published research on

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,

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and

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in The Gambia. It’s my view that Jammeh’s ostensible compliance with gender equality norms was selective and intended for the international gallery rather than a genuine commitment to women’s rights and democracy.

His tactical stance highlighted a broader trend. Autocratic ******** leaders often accommodate global gender norms to maintain domestic power dynamics. The result, for example, is

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along with a ************* approach to ******* and reproductive health and rights.

The Gambia experience also shows that western donors and multilateral institutions need to go beyond just pushing for reforms. Once they have got the reforms they advocated for, they should have a strategy for sustaining them. Forces that were opposed to the reform often regroup to campaign for its removal.

At its core, female ******** mutilation

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a

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of the human rights of ****** and women. These include the right to non-discrimination, to protection from physical and mental *********, and to health and life.

From a feminist perspective, the prevalence of FGM in numerous ******** nations revolves around upholding gender-specific norms and exerting control over women’s sexuality.

Female ******** mutilation in The Gambia

Female ******** cutting is a

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. It is driven by cultural beliefs and often performed by traditional healers. According to the most recent

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, a large majority of Gambian women aged 15–49 years (73%) have undergone female ******** cutting. More alarming is an

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of FGM among ****** under the age of 14—from 42.4% in 2010 to 50.6% in 2018.

Numerous health risks associated with all types of the practice have been documented by the

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and

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. These include severe pain, bleeding, infections and complications during childbirth and elevated rates of anxiety and other mental health disorders. This has led to

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for the practice to be banned in order to protect ******’ health and well-being.

The Gambia’s current struggle with the FGM ban reflects a complex interplay between cultural norms, religious beliefs, and the ****** for gender equality. The potential repeal of the ban poses a threat to human rights of women and ****** in The Gambia.

Reversal of hard-won gains

Though The Gambia is constitutionally secular, religion influences nearly every facet of society. Islamic fundamentalists in the country are known for attacks on religious minorities, including

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against the Ahmadiyya ******* community and the

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.

The main fundamentalist religious actors draw inspiration from and still support the exiled former dictator Jammeh. They are at the forefront of the

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against the anti-FGM law. They argue that the ban violates their religious and cultural freedoms as guaranteed in the

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.

On 4 March 2024 a

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proposed a private member’s

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in the National Assembly that seeks to overturn the ban.

The push to reassert traditional gender roles isn’t isolated to The Gambia. There is a global trend of rolling back progress on gender equality. This trend is characterized by attempts to limit

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, an

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against them, as well as

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on LGBTQI+ communities. It reflects a broader political climate of backlash against women’s rights and gender equality as a ******* in the reversal of democratic achievements.

Attempts have been seen to reverse legal protections against women and ****** in

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. In Sudan, state-sanctioned ********* and societal pressure is aimed at

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women’s public participation. Similarly, Tanzania previously enacted a policy barring teenage mothers from

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public schools, though this policy has been reversed.

This global context highlights how anti-rights movements, undemocratic norms and gendered politics are working together to erode women’s rights and exacerbate inequalities.

Provided by
The Conversation

This article is republished from

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under a Creative Commons license. Read the

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Citation:
The Gambia may allow female ******** mutilation again, another sign of a global trend eroding women’s rights (2024, March 31)
retrieved 31 March 2024
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