By Kemo Kanyi
Commissioner and Chairperson of The Gambia National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Mr. Emanuel Joof, hasdescribed Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) as a harmful traditional practice conducted on young girls who can’t make choices.
“The position of National Human Rights Commission is to promote and protect the fundamental rights of everybody, living within the jurisdiction of the Gambia. Female genital mutilation is a human rights violation,” he said recently at the Coalition of the Civil Society Organization’s press conference.
“The Gambia is not a country in isolation, we are signatories to many international and regional conventions and treaties that obligate The Gambia to do away with harmful traditional practice,” he observed.
He noted that Gambia is now subjected to international and regional criticism for its stands on FGM. “Not only have we subscribed to these international, regional treaties. One of them is the Maputo protocol. I need to say that because a lot of people will say the anti-FGM campaign is a Western idea, which is an African convention,” Mr. Joof emphasized. He continued to state that research has been conducted and has indicated its health hazards to girls and women.
“It is performed on children who do not have a choice and they are vulnerable. It’s very easy for people to say, is our culture, yes. If you look at the provisions in their laws, it talks about respect for cultural norms and practices, but that is never absolute because culture is dynamic. So, any culture that affects the health of its citizens cannot stand the test of time,” Mr. Joofpointed out.
Penda S. Bah, a politician and an FGM survivor, and JahaDukureh, rights activist, and an FGM survivor, both made shocking revelations of the experiences they went through after undergoing the practice.
