Fallou Sowe: ‘We are Sensitizing Communities to understand that the Law banning FGM is maintained’

Fallou Sowe

The National Coordinator of the Network Against Gender-Based Violence, Fallou Sowe, during an interview with this medium on Tuesday, 3rd September 2024, has said that they are reaching out to communities and Regions in the Gambia to sensitize the people that the Law Banning Female Genital Mutilation has been maintained.

During the Interview held at the Network’s office in Brusubi Phase Two, Fallou Said, “We are going to communities and to the regions to sensitize people to let them understand that the law is maintained and anybody who is found guilty violating the law, the law will be applied to you accordingly”.

Responding to the question on the possibility of more girls undergoing FGM this Summer Holidays, He said they have not done an assessment or research to showcase whether more girls have been cut or not but given the situation and the circumstances, one could assume that more girls might be cut because of the pro-FGM Campaigners who are encouraging communities to go and cut their girls.

“We have quite several communities in the Gambia who believe in this tradition so that promotion they were doing can definitely appeal to people, and some of them will go ahead and do it, especially during the campaign before the law was maintained by the National Assembly. There could have been many girls whose parents and caregivers would have been subjected to FGM”, he said.

On the possibility of Ex-Circumcisers going back to the practice, he said, “I don’t think those who are genuine will go back but we could have some of them who might not be genuine. I want to believe that most of them will not go back because we have done a lot of Education and sensitization with them”.

He said in a lot of cases, most of the ex-circumcisers have seen the impact and effects of FGM on girls, so therefore, some of them were convinced before they dropped the knife.

“I want to believe that they will continue to advocate against FGM because we have been going back to communities in the Regions and mobilizing people in the regions to come and support this campaign", he said.

He added that some of the ex-circumcisers were part of the people who were with them in the fight against FGM, and he believed that most of them would not be back.

Fallou said that like FGM, Child Marriage is a traditional practice that also has a religious dimension. He said Child Marriage can be associated with Islam with stronger arguments than FGM.

“We all know traditions that are entrenched are difficult to uproot, and because of that, we know that Child Marriage is still going on”, he said.

He added that with Education and the Law, there are law-abiding people, so for those kinds of people, once the law states this, they abide by the law.

He said these are the categories of people in the communities who, by the coming of the law, will not be involved in Child Marriage. He said some live in denial and for these people, they have to continue the education and also make sure that the law is enforced.

He added that since the Law on Child Marriage was enacted by the National Assembly in 2016 till date, he did not know of a case of Child Marriage that has been convicted. He said several cases have been reported, but most of the time, when cases are reported, they intervene and prevent it from happening, or if it has happened, they ask them to dissolve it, and it is dissolved.

“We kind of resolve it through dialogue and peaceful mediation. But at one point, we have to enforce the law, especially on those who insist on practising Child Marriage”, he said.

On the importance of engaging religious leaders as stakeholders in ending FGM and Child Marriage, He said, “We must not lose the fact that our religious leaders are a very important and influential part of our society. They are highly respected by us and by everybody in our communities because they play crucial roles, religiously, socially and even with regards to intervening in violent issues”.

He said with the FGM issue, “I believe there is a kind of misunderstanding, but once we can sit around the table and dialogue and listen to each other, probably we will be able to have an agreement. I believe that Islam is not a religion that will support harm because even the most important pillars of Islam, if it infringes on your health, Islam says to leave it”.

Author: Halimatou Ceesay