GambiaS Supreme Court is considering whether a law protecting women and girls from female genital mutilation (FGM) is constitutional. The practise, common in Gambia, often involves forcibly restraining girls while parts of their genitals are cut, sometimes with the wound sewn shut.
FGM constitutes torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment under international human rights law. It can result in death or life long health problems such as infections, fetal deaths, obstetric complications, and psychological effects.Now the Supreme Court will decide whether women and girls will continue to be protected from such harmful practices.
Religious leaders and a member of parliament failed to get parliament to overturn Gambia’s 2015 FGM ban in 2024. they have taken their fight all the way to the Supreme Court, contending that the ban violates constitutional rights to cultural and religious freedom. This effort isn’t just a setback for one small West African country-it’s part of a global backlash against women’s rights that threatens to unravel decades of progress protecting women and girls from a widespread form of gender-based violence.
There’s no medical justification for FGM, according to the World Health Organization. Medicalization of FGM, in which the procedure is carried out by health personnel, does not reduce the violation of human rights. Irrespective of where and by whom it is performed, FGM is never safe.
Gambia’s Supreme Court will decide the fate of a law banning female genital mutilation (FGM). Parliament passed the ban in 2024,but it’s future is now uncertain due to a legal challenge.
Opponents of the ban argue it violates religious freedom.However, women and girls who rely on the protections it offers fear the consequences of its repeal. Fatou Baleh, an anti-FGM activist, survivor, and founder of WILL, explained that speaking out against the case has led to harassment, especially on social media. This intimidation has silenced many survivors and women’s rights defenders.
Gambia has already committed to ending FGM through international agreements. the country ratified the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, its Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol), and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. Article 5 (b) of the Maputo Protocol specifically prohibits all forms of FGM, including medicalization.
In July 2025, the government signed the African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women,further solidifying its commitment to preventing harmful practices and protecting survivors.This action reinforces the constitutional duty to uphold the FGM ban.
The Supreme Court’s decision will directly impact the health and well-being of Gambian girls and women. Regardless of the ruling, the government must prioritize ending FGM through education, community initiatives, law enforcement, and support services for survivors.Hundreds of thousands of lives depend on it.
Juliana Nnoko is a senior women’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch.
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