Gambia's FGM Ban Faces Supreme Court Challenge

A group of Gambian Muslim leaders and a member of parliament have asked the country's supreme court to overturn the ban on female genital mutilation (FGM). The case resumes this month. It follows a failed attempt in parliament last year to decriminalize the practice. FGM, the intentional cutting or removal of female genitalia for non-medical reasons, is internationally recognized as a human rights violation. Gambia banned it in 2015. The legal challenge is seen as part of a wider backlash against women's rights. It comes after two babies died from bleeding after undergoing FGM in Gambia last year. The MP leading the case previously submitted a bill to legalize FGM. Parliament rejected it in 2024.