By Arret Jatta
Ms. Fatou Baldeh an activist and the CEO of Women In Liberation and leadership(WILL) said she believes most National Assembly members are against the repealing of the law on FGM but they are afraid this might cost them their seat in parliament.
Ms. Baldeh was speaking at the National Convening on Female Genital Mutilation, Child Marriage and Sexual Violence.
“For me I believe a lot of National Assembly members want to vote against this repeal but the reason they are not on our side is because they fear that if they vote, they will lose elections and that is why,” She remarked.
She adds that those NAMs are not there for the best interest of their constituency and for the people who are most vulnerable but are there so that they can enjoy the luxury of being an MP.
“I believe the people who are driving this agenda of the bill are extremist, are people who are looking for relevance, who want to use the bodies of women and girls because we are already vulnerable and they know that society condones such violence to women bodies”, she reiterated.
“Where were all these people when Jammeh banned the FGM in 2015, why didn’t anyone say anything then”, she questioned the people who are championing FGMban to be repealed
Fatoumatta A Ceesay a legal practitioner also says most “NAMs forget that they were elected in the National Assembly by the people and they should do right by them because without the people they are nothing”.
Meanwhile, in March, Hon. Almamy Gibba the NAM for FoniKansala brought a private member bill in Parliament to repeal the law on FGM, this action generated lots of reaction from both pro and anti FGM/C