March 25, 2024
Information on the Bill to Repeal the Women’s Act of 2015 Prohibiting Female Genital Cutting (FGC) in The Gambia
Background
In the Central River Region (CRR) of the Gambia, where Tostan is currently implementing our Community Empowerment Program, three women in a village called Bagadadji (where Tostan has never worked) were denounced as they set about cutting young girls. They were caught in the act by some NGOs and reported to the Gender Office in the area. The three women were arrested and prosecuted under the Women’s Act of 2015 which prohibits FGC in the Gambia. They were thus fined and sentenced to jail.
The news spread quickly through social media, and an outspoken religious leader vehemently contested the arrest of these village women, demanding their release. This religious leader has always promoted the practice of FGC, linking it to religion and culture. He received support from several other Gambian religious leaders and they paid the fine of the three women who were subsequently released and sent home.
The religious leaders discussed the issue on various social media platforms leading to heated debates and reactions from many human rights activists and organizations. The religious leaders then issued a statement in support of the practice of FGC and appealed to members of the National Assembly of The Gambia to repeal the law prohibiting FGC.
During a September session of the National Assembly, one member announced his intention to propose an official bill to repeal the Women’s Act of 2015 during the December 2023 session. Many national and international organizations (including Tostan), international embassies, and other activists – deeply concerned by such a proposition – held meetings and issued statements trying to convince assembly members not to repeal the law. Fortunately, the bill was not included in the agenda for December, 2023 but was rather postponed until the assembly session beginning on March 4, 2024.
On March 18, the bill was debated for the first time in a plenary session of the National Assembly where the majority of members appeared to support its repeal. The Speaker of the National Assembly ultimately decided to refer the bill to the Gender, Health, and Religion Committee of the Assembly for review at the end of the session.
The law banning the practice of FGC in The Gambia remains in place for now. However, there is a high risk that the law may be repealed if it is reintroduced by the Committee to the National Assembly in coming months.
Tostan’s Presence in The Gambia
Tostan has implemented our Community Empowerment Program (CEP) in The Gambia since 2006 in both the Upper River Region (203 communities) and the Central River Region (60 communities) reaching over 200,000 people. This three-year program, implemented in the national languages of The Gambia, has demonstrated that a participatory education that provides new information in a respectful, inclusive, and non judgemental way can lead to positive and sustainable social change.
Evaluations of the CEP have shown a significant increase in women’s leadership and participation, educational enrollment for girls in schools, improved hygiene and health, an increase in economic activities, and more healthy environmental practices. The culturally sensitive approach of the program has led to 329 communities in the URR and CRR publicly announcing their decision to abandon the practices of child/forced marriage and Female Genital Cutting.
Over the past 18 years, Tostan has worked closely with local government authorities, as well as with religious and traditional leaders. We always provide special training for them to align Human Rights values to those of religious and cultural beliefs before starting our program. Hundreds of Area Councils and community leaders have requested we implement the program throughout the entire country given our proven results.
In November 2023, Gambia’s Vice President welcomed members of the Tostan Board and encouraged our organization to continue our important work to inform, encourage and support the development goals identified by Gambian communities which are most often also those of The Gambian government and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
Tostan’s Approach to ending Female Genital Cutting (FGC)
Since 1997, Tostan’s experience has shown that a holistic, African-inspired education program in people’s national language is what has led to over 9,500 communities in eight African countries deciding to abandon the practice of FGC.
In The Gambia, 329 communities have made that commitment. We have seen that health and general wellbeing have always been major priorities when communities consensually identify their vision and values for the future.
When people learn that FGC is not a religious obligation from their respected religious leaders, that it violates girls and women’s rights, and that there are harmful health consequences to the practice, they themselves have decided to abandon FGC – and they do so publicly in order to encourage others to follow suit. The religious and traditional leaders, as well as women, youth, and traditional cutters are all engaged in the decision. They then reach out to their social network to dialogue and invite everyone to join the movement for better health and wellbeing through abandoning FGC collectively as a united family.
When a law is in place in their country, the law has supported people in their efforts and it has contributed to their success. However, as Bettina Shell-Duncan concludes in her long term evaluation of the impact of the law in Senegal and The Gambia: “The law alone did not result in abandonment [of FGM]. Abandonment only came about after Tostan worked in the communities. We conclude that legislation can strengthen other reform strategies by lending support to those who have or wish to abandon FGM.“
We recognize that if the law were repealed in The Gambia, it would not only create an obstacle to all the efforts of Gambian communities, Tostan, and other local and international organizations with whom we collaborate, but it will also be a signal to other countries that repealing the FGC ban is possible. Other religious leaders may also see this as an opportunity to use this unprecedented repeal to try and impose such a repeal in their own countries.
Thus, Tostan has been involved in the following activities related to this situation:
- 50 members of communities who have already abandoned FGC traveled to Banjul to attend the plenary session in the National Assembly during the review of the law to reiterate and illustrate why it is necessary to maintain the law in relation to increasing the wellbeing of their families, communities, and extended social networks.
- Tostan Gambia joined the Network Against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence to amplify inclusive dialogue on the relevance of the law as it stands.
- Tostan participated in an open dialogue with national assembly members centered around community well-being.
- Tostan participated in a press conference organized by the Network Against SGBV on March 17 to invite the national and international media to focus on progress in social wellbeing and community development – such as the law banning the practice of FGC (as it stands).
Media and Social Media Engagement
- Through our media and social media engagement we continue to amplify, reinforce, and include voices from our partner communities as they navigate the ebbs and flow of life in the community, in resilience, and in commitment to their wellbeing,
- Tostan Gambia, under the umbrella of The Coalition of CSOs and NGOs, organized a nationwide radio campaign which was broadcast on Saturday 16th March across all community radios in all regions of the country. Panelists from the communities, and other NGO’s participated in discussions on the risks associated with FGC, particularly from the health standpoint.
- Tostan communications has developed a two-week social media plan to leverage existing content that highlights our inclusive approach, the commitment of religious leaders, and the vision of communities to abandon FGC. The goal is to implicitly highlight that the repeal of the law does not reflect the deep aspirations of communities.
- Tostan is having discussions with “Health Policy Watch” to produce a feature on a Tostan partner community and an opinion piece on our inclusive approach to building a positive movement to abandon FGC.
Finally, we are encouraged by the fact that the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Welfare sent out a “Brief” this weekend calling for the Gambian National Assembly to uphold the law, but also emphasizing the need for “an improved legal and policy framework that provides a holistic approach to the issues around FGM in the country to keep pace with evolving trends.”
She notes that: “government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have taken a series of actions to tackle FGM. Regardless of its shortcomings, the enactment of the Women’s Amendment Act 2015, which bans FGM, marked significant progress in addressing FGM in the Gambia. While thousands of girls are still at risk of being subjected to FGM, there is growing evidence that progress is being made toward ending the practice in The Gambia. This achievement could be attributed to the growing inclusion of communities in developing interventions that allow for ownership of these initiatives and influencing positive change in ending FGM. Community sensitisation and outreach activities, including community dialogues with traditional, religious, and community leaders, continue to take place and yield some positive results.”
Thank you for your interest.
The Tostan Gambia Team