Africa-Press – Gambia. EFSCRJ is utterly horrified, heartbroken, and outraged by the confirmed reports of the death of a three-week-old baby girl who succumbed to severe bleeding and trauma following an act of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Boboum Kunda, Wuli District, URR. This tragic incident is exactly one month after another tragic death of a one-month-old baby girl in Wellingara also as a result of FGM.
This is not merely a tragedy; it is an unspeakable crime. The death of this innocent child, who had her entire life ahead of her, is a stark and devastating consequence of the persistent practice of FGM in our communities. It is a piercing wake-up call that the time for half-measures and silence is over. FGM is a deeply harmful practice that constitutes a severe violation of human rights, including the rights to health, bodily integrity, and life itself. It is a form of violence against women and girls and has no medical basis. The death of this infant is yet another brutal proof that FGM is not a “cultural” or “religious” issue, it is a life-threatening act of violence.
We demand justice
We call upon the Inspector General of Police and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to immediately launch a full, transparent, and expedited investigation into this death. All individuals involved in perpetrating this act on the infant must be identified, arrested, and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law under the Women’s (Amendment) Act 2015, which explicitly criminalizes FGM in The Gambia. While we demand justice for this child must be swift and unambiguous, we wish to raise concern that the ongoing trial of the one-month-old child victim has been slow. Delayed justice does not send a clear message that such atrocities will not be tolerated.
A Call to Action for Religious and Community Leaders
This devastating event places a profound moral obligation on our religious and community leaders. Your voices are among the most powerful and respected in our society. We call on you to:
1. Speak out unambiguously: Publicly and unequivocally condemn FGM as a harmful practice that has no basis in true Islam or any other religion. It is not a religious obligation.
2. Educate your congregations: Use your sermons, teachings, and platforms to educate communities about the severe physical, psychological, and sexual health consequences of FGM, which have now culminated in the ultimate price: the loss of a child’s life.
3. Promote alternative rites of passage: Champion and bless alternative coming-of-age ceremonies that celebrate our girls’ entry into womanhood without subjecting them to cutting and trauma.
4. Support survivors and families: Create safe spaces for dialogue, offer counselling, and support families who choose to protect their daughters, shielding them from social pressure.
Silence and complacency are complicity. The blood of this three-week-old child cries out for action.
To the parents who have lost their beloved daughter, we extend our deepest and most sincere condolences. Your unimaginable loss must not be in vain. It must become the catalyst for permanent change.
EF Small Centre remains steadfast in its commitment to working with the government, civil society organizations, activists, and community leaders to eradicate FGM in The Gambia.
Enough is enough. Let this be the last death in the name of a harmful tradition.
Rest in peace, little one. Your short life will not be forgotten.
2025 – The Year of Transparency and Accountability
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