The Gambia's Supreme Court to Decide on female genital mutilation (FGM) Ban.

Photo by Timon Cornelissen on pexels.com 

The battle over accountability for grave human rights abuses is not confined to conflict zones or authoritarian crackdowns. In The Gambia, the Supreme Court is poised to rule on a constitutional challenge to the 2015 Women’s (Amendment) Act, which criminalises female genital mutilation (FGM). 

Female genital mutilation (FGM) involves the partial or total removal of external female genitalia, typically performed on young girls without anesthesia and in unsafe conditions. International human rights law recognises FGM as a form of torture or cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment. Additionally, the World Health Organization affirms that the practice has no medical justification; even when “medicalized,” it remains a human rights violation. Indeed, FGM can cause severe complications, including hemorrhage, infection, infertility, childbirth risks, psychological trauma, and death.

Globally, more than 230 million girls and women are estimated to have undergone FGM, with the majority living in Africa. In 2020, 73 % of women and girls aged 15 to 49 in The Gambia had undergone FGM, often before the age of five. The consequences are tragically concrete: in August 2025, a one-month-old baby girl reportedly bled to death after undergoing the procedure.

When The Gambia criminalised FGM in 2015, it joined dozens of countries recognising the practice as a violation of the rights to health, life, and freedom from torture. The government also adopted a national strategy to eliminate FGM by 2030 in line with global development goals. 

Yet enforcement has been uneven. The first convictions occurred only in 2023, when three women were fined or sentenced to prison for cutting eight girls. Rather than consolidating progress, these convictions triggered a backlash. bill introduced in 2024 sought to decriminalise FGM, though parliament ultimately rejected it, prompting proponents to turn to the courts.

Today, before the Supreme Court, plaintiffs claim the FGM ban infringes on religious and cultural freedoms, with one religious leader asserting that it is part of Islam, harmless, and socially beneficial in controlling women’s sexuality. 

On their side,  women’s rights advocates counter that FGM predates Islam, is not mandated by Islamic law, and framing it as a religious right ignores constitutional protections for life, dignity, equality, and freedom from inhuman treatment.

The Gambia’s obligations extend beyond its borders. It has ratified the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and its Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, which require states to prohibit and condemn all forms of FGM, including medicalised practices. In July 2025, it further reinforced those commitments by signing the African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women. Meanwhile, a recent ruling by the ECOWAS Court of Justice found that FGM meets the threshold for torture, reflecting a growing regional consensus that the practice is incompatible with human rights law.

While civil society groups mobilise survivors, community leaders, and women’s organisations to defend the 2015 ban, they face harassment, especially online, as part of a broader global backlash against women’s rights.

Amid this pressure, the stakes are real: human rights are not theoretical principles; they are measured in the lived realities of women and girls. For families who rely on the law to protect their daughters, the Court’s ruling will determine whether that safeguard endures. If the ban is upheld, authorities must strengthen enforcement and survivor support. If it is struck down, the repercussions could extend beyond FGM, weakening broader protections for women and girls and signaling that fundamental rights remain open to negotiation.

As the justices deliberate, the question before them is stark: can appeals to culture or religion justify a practice recognised internationally as violence and torture? The answer will shape not only the legal landscape in The Gambia but also the futures of countless girls whose safety depends on the law’s protection.

written by Clara Pescatori