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Binta’s Story: Surviving FGM and Reclaiming Her Life

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PC: Binta Gibba, Chairperson KEYCDA   On a quiet Sunny afternoon in Kuloro, Kombo East, West Coast Region of the Gambia, Binta Gibba reflects on a childhood memory that continues to shape her life. What began as a seemingly innocent outing with other girls ended in an experience that would follow her into adulthood, her marriage, and eventually her activism. Like many girls in communities where Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is practised, Gibba was taken for the procedure at a very young age—too young to understand what was happening or why. Speaking during an interview on March 8th 2026, she recalls, “We were taken to a bushy area and given fruits and sweets”. “At first, we thought it was just a gathering. But then the older women started calling the girls one after the other and taking them into the bush.” From where they sat waiting, the children could hear others crying. Fear spread quickly among them. When her turn came, Gibba was taken into the bush and circumcised. The experien...
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Mother Kept Daughter Away from Village to Protect Her from FGM

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PC: Getty Image In the rural community of Kibbir Wolof, a mother faced a difficult decision between adhering to tradition and protecting her daughter's safety. Ultimately, she chose to prioritise her child's well-being, even if it meant keeping her away from the family village for several years. For generations, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has been regarded in some communities as a cultural requirement that marks the transition from girlhood to womanhood. However, an increasing number of mothers and survivors are challenging this tradition, often distancing themselves and their children from relatives and community pressures to avoid the practice. In areas where FGM continues, it is frequently linked with social acceptance, marriageability, and notions of purity. Families who refuse to participate in the practice may face stigma, harassment, or exclusion from social and religious events. For some elders, abandoning this ritual is perceived as a rejection of ancestral custom...
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Kibbir Alkalo Declares Zero Tolerance for FGM in His Community

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PC: Alkalo Ebrima Boye In a significant step for child protection, the village head of Kibbir Wolof, Ebrima Boye, has declared a zero-tolerance policy against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), pledging to protect girls in his community from the harmful practice. His declaration supports national efforts in The Gambia to uphold the 2015 law banning FGM, legislation that continues to face both legal and social challenges. By taking a public stance, Boye joins a growing number of community leaders advocating for the abandonment of the practice and the protection of women and girls. During an interview held on 17 February 2026 in Kibbir Wolof Village, in the Central River Region, Boye stated that no girl in his community should be subjected to FGM. The meeting brought together community leaders, youth advocates, and activists to discuss different perspectives on the issue and find ways to eliminate it. Boye stressed that protecting girls from harmful practices is a collective responsibility...
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Women Leaders in Lower River Region Lead the Charge Against FGM

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PC: Getty Image In the Lower River Region of The Gambia, women leaders and grassroots groups are turning personal trauma into purpose. Survivors, community elders and young activists are speaking out against the long-standing practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), replacing silence with advocacy, education and the promotion of safer alternative rites of passage for girls. In many communities, survivors are breaking the stigma surrounding FGM by publicly sharing their experiences. Many have become passionate advocates working to end the practice. Female leaders are also addressing the socio-economic pressures that sustain FGM, such as beliefs about marriageability and dowry expectations, by encouraging girls’ education and promoting alternative livelihoods for former practitioners. During an interview conducted in February 2026 in her home village of Wellingara Ba, Mrs. Kumba Sabally, a native of Soma in the Lower River Region, expressed her commitment to speaking out against the ...
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‘The Tradition Ends with Me’: Gambian Mother Vows to Protect Her Daughters from FGM

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PC: Getty Image A mother and survivor of female genital mutilation (FGM) in central Gambia has vowed that her daughters will never undergo the practice, saying she wants to end a cycle of harm passed down through generations. Fatoumatta Sillah, a native of Kibbir Wolof in the Central River Region, spoke during an interview conducted in February 2026 during a visit to her home village. “The scar from cutting me isn’t from an accident,” she said. “It is a legacy — a physical reminder of a tradition that demanded obedience over wellbeing and pain over peace. When I watch my own child sleep, I make a silent vow: this is where the cycle breaks.”  Sillah said female genital mutilation was deeply embedded in family and community traditions when she was growing up. “As a girl in the village, I saw many girls being cut,” she said.  “FGM is part of family and traditional history, and that is why it is difficult to stop.” Now a mother of four, she said becoming a parent changed her perspective an...
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‘Enough is enough’: Kibbir Fula Youth Leader Calls for end to FGM

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PC: Cherno Boye A youth leader in central Gambia has called for an end to female genital mutilation (FGM), describing the practice as harmful and urging greater community awareness to protect girls from being cut. Cherno Boye, district youth chairperson for Sami district in the Central River Region, made the call during an interview conducted in February 2026 in his home village of Kibbir Fula, saying “enough is enough”. Boye said his position against FGM was shaped by his participation in awareness programs organised by civil society organisations and community groups. “I have attended many sensitisation programs organised by different institutions, and I am aware of the lasting health problems that come after FGM,” he said. “That is why I advocate for an end to this harmful violation of girls’ rights.” FGM remains a deeply rooted practice in some rural communities in The Gambia, where it is often associated with tradition and religious beliefs. Boye said these perceptions continue...
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Father Divorces Wife Over Daughters’ FGM Refusal

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PC: Getty Image  A mother’s decision to protect her daughters from female genital mutilation (FGM) led to the breakdown of her marriage in Wellingara Ba, a rural community in Jarra East, Bureng Ward in The Gambia’s Lower River Region. The woman, whose name is being withheld for safety reasons, refused to allow her two daughters to undergo cutting, saying she did not want them to endure the pain and health risks associated with the practice. Her decision ultimately cost her marriage. The events occurred approximately five years ago, when the couple’s daughters were four and two years old. The case illustrates the intense social and family pressure faced by parents who choose to abandon a practice that remains deeply rooted in many Gambian communities. To understand what happened, this reporter on February 16th 2026, travelled about 170 kilometres from Banjul along the South Bank Road to Wellingara Ba, where the former husband, Lamin Jallow, agreed to speak openly about why he divorced h...
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