The Gambia votes to reverse landmark ban on female genital mutilation

Protesters in favour of female genital mutilation (FGM) gather outside the National Assembly in Banjul, The Gambia, on March 18, 2024, during a debate on a bill seeking to lift the ban on the practice [Muhamadou Bittaye/AFP]

The Gambia has taken steps towards lifting a ban on female circumcision, a move that could make it the first country in the world to reverse legal protections against the practice for millions of women and girls.

Politicians in the West African nation’s parliament voted 42 to four on Monday to advance the controversial bill, which would repeal a landmark 2015 ban on female genital mutilation (FGM) that made the practice punishable by up to three years in prison