“In 2024, I can’t believe I still find myself in discussions of whether to cut parts of women’s genital”

After months of debates in Parliament, Gambia recently confirmed the ban on female genital mutilation (FGM), thanks to the efforts of activists such as Jaha Dukureh. As an FGM survivor herself, the woman was interviewed by CNN about this new fight, which has threatened Gambian women’s and girl’s rights.

Jaha Dukureh is a Gambian activist and United Nations’ Goodwill Ambassador for the rights of women and girls. She underwent infibulation (type 3 female genital mutilation) when she was a week old baby and only realized it at the age of 15, after her forced marriage to an older man in the United States.

“In my tribe in the Gambia, they practice FGM when the girl is still very young so when I was one week old, I went through FGM, the type of FGM where the vagina is usually sewn so that they can prevent you from having sex before marriage.” she told CNN in a desolate voice before adding: “I didn’t know that I went through FGM because obviously at that age I don’t remember the experience. But when I got married at 15, it was when I found out that I had been subjected to FGM because my marriage couldn’t be consummated until the sewn was taken off.”

Unfortunately, her half-sister, who had also undergone FGM at a very young age, died from the complications of the cut. This experience left its mark on Jaha, who now has a daughter and dedicates her time to the fight against FGM.

“I have dedicated most of my adult life working on the issue of FGM as a survivor and someone who not only comes from the Gambia, but from a tribe that practices Female Genital Mutilation 100% of the time and I feel to bring change into our community.” 

For several years now Jaha has been a tireless advocate for ending FGM. She’s collaborated with communities, medical professionals, and civil society coalitions to raise awareness about the dangers of the practice, which is also “a highly politicized issue” as she confirmed during the interview.

She is the founder of the NGO Safe Hands For Girls, which campaigns for the rights of women and girls in Gambia. She actively contributed to adopting a law on the prohibition and criminalization of FGM by the Gambian government in 2015.

Today in Gambia, even if the law on prohibition has been upheld, it does not fully protect young Gambian girls, who are often cut in secret and with the complicity of their families. Which unfortunately means that the road to the end of FGM is still a long one in this country where 73% of women are survivors. Gambian Activists are now working hard to deconstruct stereotypes and the false belief that FGM is a religious prescription.

“In the Gambia and some predominantly Muslim countries with extreme religious leaders, people claim that Female Genital Mutilation is a religious path but it’s not!” Jaha concluded in her interview with CNN.