We must keep the pressure on and demand that these protections remain in place, because every girl deserves to grow up whole, healthy, and free from a practice that has caused enough pain to far too many for far too long.
It is heartbreaking that in 2026, we are still fighting for the basic right of girls to be safe in their own bodies, as The Gambia’s Supreme Court is currently deciding whether to keep or strike down a life-saving ban on female genital mutilation (FGM).
We need to stand with the mothers, survivors, and activists in The Gambia who are pleading for the court to recognize that no culture or belief system should ever justify cutting or harming a child.
FGM is not a rite of passage; it is an act of violence that leads to severe bleeding, infection, excruciating pain, and even death, and it leaves women with permanent physical, psychological, and emotional scars that affect them for the rest of their lives.
Despite being criminalized in 2015, this harmful practice continues to be forced on young girls, sometimes even infants, under the guise of tradition or religion, even though there is absolutely no medical benefit to it and it causes nothing but lifelong suffering.
I swear, I’ve never seen my friend smile with all her teeth like this. The boy who’s giving her butterflies is really doing his job. I’m happy for her… I’m about to wear Gele.