Gambian police charge three women after death of newborn girl linked to FGM

The Star

2 days ago

BANJUL (Reuters) -Gambian police have charged three women over the death of a one-month-old girl who had undergone female genital mutilation in a case that has sparked an outcry across the country, where the practice persists despite a decade-old ban.
The three were charged under the Women's (Amendment) Act, 2015, a landmark law criminalising female genital mutilation (FGM), Gambian police said on Wednesday.
One of the women faces life imprisonment and has been remanded in custody, while the two others were charged as accomplices and granted bail, police said.
"That incident is more than just a case — it is a national wake-up call," Emmanuel Joof, chair of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said at an event this week.
"It is a reminder that FGM is not simply a 'cultural practice'—it is a criminal offence, a human rights violation, and in some cases, like this one, it is deadly."
FGM remains widespread in The Gambia despite the ban. Last year, lawmakers rejected a bill that would have made the country the first to reverse a national ban on the practice.
"No cultural or traditional justification should override the obligation to protect children from harm," the NHRC said in a separate statement.
(Reporting by Pap SaineWriting by Ayen Deng BiorEditing by Portia Crowe and Frances Kerry)