The Gambia’s Supreme Court: A Ruling on FGM and the Line Between Culture and Human Rights

The Gambia’s Supreme Court is set to make a landmark ruling on the country’s ban on female genital mutilation (FGM), a practice that has left deep scars on generations of women. For mothers like Mariama Jabbie, who underwent FGM as a child and now fears for her own daughters’ safety, the court’s decision will be a test of whether the law can continue to protect girls from this painful and often deadly procedure.

The case before the Supreme Court is not just about the ban itself but also about the complex interplay between culture, religion, and women’s rights in The Gambia. Proponents of the constitutional challenge argue that the law infringes on Gambians’ right to practice their faith freely and to uphold cultural traditions. However, human rights groups and medical organizations insist that all forms of non-medical FGM violate girls’ bodily autonomy and fundamental rights.

FGM remains a deeply ingrained practice in The Gambia, with an estimated 65% of girls undergoing it before the age of five and another 18% between five and nine. According to UNICEF, about three in four Gambian women have undergone FGM, leaving them at risk of lifelong health complications, including infertility, obstetric fistula, and even death.

The limited enforcement of the ban has driven the practice further underground, with some families resorting to cutting girls at increasingly younger ages to avoid detection. The Gambia’s Supreme Court must consider whether a weakened law will embolden these perpetrators or encourage others to follow suit.

In 2015, The Gambia became one of the first countries in Africa to ban FGM, criminalizing the practice with penalties of up to three years in prison and life imprisonment where it results in death. However, since its introduction, enforcement has been patchy at best. The first convictions under the law came only in 2023, when three women were found guilty of performing FGM on eight girls aged between eight and 10.

The debate over FGM is not unique to The Gambia. In many African countries, cultural and religious traditions continue to be used as justification for a practice that has no health benefits but numerous risks. However, the Gambian case highlights the need for a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between culture and human rights.

Supporters of the ban argue that it is not about eroding cultural practices but about protecting girls from harm. For mothers like Mariama Jabbie, who have lived with the scars of FGM for decades, this is a matter of personal survival. “I am always on high alert,” she said in an interview with Al Jazeera. “I worry that a relative could take my daughters without my knowledge.”

The Supreme Court’s ruling will send a powerful message to women and girls in The Gambia about their rights and dignity. Will it uphold the ban, recognizing FGM as a threat to public health and human rights? Or will it cave in to pressure from those who see the law as an infringement on cultural freedom?

For now, mothers like Mariama Jabbie can only wait anxiously for the verdict, knowing that their daughters’ futures hang precariously in the balance. As one of Africa’s countries with the highest prevalence of FGM, The Gambia’s decision will have far-reaching implications for girls across the continent.

The line between culture and human rights is a thin one, but it must be drawn. The Supreme Court has a unique opportunity to uphold the ban on FGM, sending a clear message that girls’ bodies are not subject to cultural or religious traditions that deny them their fundamental rights.

In this case, the fate of thousands of Gambian girls hangs in the balance. Will they remain protected by law? Or will they be forced back into the shadows, subjected to a practice that has no place in modern society?

The Supreme Court must act with courage and conviction. The time for equivocation is over.