{"id":43453,"date":"2023-09-24T17:20:10","date_gmt":"2023-09-24T17:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/?p=43453"},"modified":"2023-09-24T16:44:39","modified_gmt":"2023-09-24T16:44:39","slug":"mai-fatty-advises-assembly-to-amend-fgm-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/mai-fatty-advises-assembly-to-amend-fgm-law","title":{"rendered":"Mai Fatty advises Assembly to amend FGM law"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. <\/strong><\/span>The leader of the opposition Gambia Moral Congress (GMC) has advised National Assembly Members to amend the law banning female genital mutilation (FGM).<\/b><\/p>\n

Despite being banned in the country since 2015, this harmful practice continues to be practiced secretly.<\/p>\n

However, the recent conviction of three women for prohibited excisions on eight babies sparked intense debate in the country, where 75% of adolescent girls have been subjected to the practice.<\/p>\n

Political and religious leaders in The Gambia are actively campaigning to decriminalise the practice. Imam Abdoulie Fatty, a supporter of excision, and legislator Sulayman Saho, who has called for decriminalisation in the country\u2019s parliament, are the driving forces behind this controversial issue.<\/p>\n

Commenting on the matter, barrister, GMC leader and former interior minister Mai Fatty told in an exclusive: \u201cI urge parliament to amend the law and render female circumcision a choice for parents. Advocacy groups could then continue to persuade and educate parents and guardians about the practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt should be amended with in-built mechanisms to permit circumcision and prevent mutilation. It should be amended with a view to certification, licensing, standardisation and regulating its practice. Licensed and certified practitioners [medical practitioners] may even be required to pay tax for revenue, and a database of legally and medically licensed persons may be created and managed,\u201d he suggested.<\/p>\n

He said the state should take another look at this law, ensuring that \u201cour laws reflect the subjective moral and cultural values of our societies and not imported foreign ideas\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cFemale genital circumcision (FGC) should not be unlawful in The Gambia. It should not be criminalised. The statutory definition should be amended in consultation with guidelines from scholars consistent with the cultural and religious beliefs of a sizeable segment of society. It should attain the dual objectives of medical safety and conviction compliance,\u201d Fatty added.<\/p>\n

The trained lawyer said the UN and other advocates of FGM \u201cgot it all wrong\u201d, arguing that in the Gambian context, \u201cit is not about mutilation\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a clear distinction between genital mutilation and genital circumcision. In The Gambia, we practice male and female circumcision and not mutilation. Genital mutilation is alien to Gambian cultural practice, though some entities, particularly those created for its advocacy and making huge financial gains out of it, would like to convince us otherwise. To demolish the system, advocates include all procedures involving the partial or total removal of the external genitalia in four categorisations,\u201d he argued.<\/p>\n

He added that there is \u201cno conceptual, linguistic, or etymological nexus between mutilation and circumcision\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI support statutorily regulating the practice of female circumcision with a view to certification, licensing, standardisation and eliminating over-exaggerated, infrequent risks associated with it. It is improper to lump circumcision and mutilation in one bundle,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n

He said the 2020 Gambia Demographic and Health Survey reveals exclusively the statistics on the total number of women and girls (73%) who were circumcised and not mutilated.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is universally accepted by the majority of Gambians that circumcision does not constitute mutilation. Male circumcision is legal. It would make no sense in the English language to substitute circumcision with mutilation. If that were to be tenable, then male circumcision should also be referred to as male genital mutilation, potentially subject to possible statutory proscription. We all know such a notion would be outrageous,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n

Fatty argued that it is the inalienable right of a parent, parents, or guardians to decide what is in the best interests of their boy or girl child.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a universal truth, save for clear evidence of endangerment or some grievous parenting defect. Denying parents, the discretion to circumcise their child by law is a violation of their substantive parental rights over the child. To contend that the Gambian girl child must be protected against legitimate decisions of Gambian parents on the anvil that such children were incapable of consent at such a tender age is horrendously fallacious,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Gambia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. The leader of the opposition Gambia Moral Congress (GMC) has advised National Assembly Members to amend the law banning female genital mutilation (FGM). Despite being banned in the country since 2015, this harmful practice continues to be practiced secretly. However, the recent conviction of three women for prohibited excisions on eight babies […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":43452,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[2355,2361,260],"class_list":["post-43453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-gambia","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"\nMai Fatty advises Assembly to amend FGM law - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The leader of the opposition Gambia Moral Congress (GMC) has advised National Assembly Members to amend the law banni ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/mai-fatty-advises-assembly-to-amend-fgm-law\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mai Fatty advises Assembly to amend FGM law\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The leader of the opposition Gambia Moral Congress (GMC) has advised National Assembly Members to amend the law banni ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/mai-fatty-advises-assembly-to-amend-fgm-law\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-09-24T17:20:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2023\/09\/sm_1695561165.697153.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/mai-fatty-advises-assembly-to-amend-fgm-law#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/mai-fatty-advises-assembly-to-amend-fgm-law\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Mai Fatty advises Assembly to amend FGM law\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-24T17:20:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/mai-fatty-advises-assembly-to-amend-fgm-law\"},\"wordCount\":671,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/mai-fatty-advises-assembly-to-amend-fgm-law#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2023\/09\/sm_1695561165.697153.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Gambia\",\"Gambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/mai-fatty-advises-assembly-to-amend-fgm-law#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/mai-fatty-advises-assembly-to-amend-fgm-law\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/mai-fatty-advises-assembly-to-amend-fgm-law\",\"name\":\"Mai Fatty advises Assembly to amend FGM law - 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