Metro

Gambian lawmaker seeks to overturn ban on female genital mutilation

Published

8 months ago

April 9, 2024

After the first fines were given to people in Gambia for female genital mutilation last year, lawmaker Almaneh Gibba has begun his effort to overturn a 2015 ban on the practice.

Anti-FGM activists were happy with the decision because it was a rare win against a culture of impunity that usually protects offenders in countries where these kinds of mutilations happen. In October, about 180 groups from the public and private sectors signed an open letter asking the Gambia government to honour the rule against female genital mutilation.

Even though some people were worried about how light the sentences were—a $220 fine for three women accused of cutting eight baby girls— the law also made religious leaders in the Gambia angry, which is what led Gibba to try to remove the 8-year ban on what it calls “circumcision” of women. A bill presented by Gibba is now being looked at by Parliament.

It is “not just a legal imperative but a moral obligation,” Gambia’s former Vice President, Isatou Touray, now Gambia’s highest-profile campaigner against the practice, said in February. With the world watching, history will judge us based on the actions we take,” she wrote in an op-ed.

Gibba, an independent MP and government critic, told Reuters the ban was not wanted by most people in Gambia, a predominantly Muslim country where some believe cutting a part of the clitoris is required by Islam, and key to a girl’s passage to womanhood.

“We will not be dictated by Western philosophy and their views on what we do,” he said. “Who are they to tell us our culture, our religion, our traditional beliefs?”

According to the government, 73% of Gambian women between the ages of 15 and 49 have had FGM. A lot of these women had their clitoris and other parts of their genitalia cut off completely. This month, there will be a public hearing on the practice, and the results will be given to parliament before the final vote.

In the 2019-20 government health poll, 46% of circumcised Gambian women between the ages of 15 and 49 said they thought the practice should end. About 40% of guys also thought the same thing.

No country has ever eased the ban on FGM. Some people are worried that Gambia’s bill could give new pro-FGM activists in Africa more power, based on the idea of self-determination and the right to choose.

Related Topics:Featured female genital mutilation Gambia

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Metro

Zambia: FOX report highlights persistent media harassment, calls for reforms

Published

3 hours ago

December 18, 2024

Isaac Dachen

A new Freedom of Expression (FOX) report by the Media Institute for Southern Africa (MISA) Zambia, has raised concerns over what it describes as the continued harassment of media professionals in the country despite collective efforts to safeguard freedom of expression.

The FOX Report serves as a call to action for all stakeholders to create a safer and more enabling environment for the media to operate without fear or intimidation.

Chairperson of the MISA-Zambia Board, Lorraine Mwanza, who raised the concerns while launching the report on Tuesday at the Pamodzi Hotel in Lusaka, highlighted that journalists and media practitioners in the country still faced intimidation, censorship, and violence for fulfilling their role of informing the public.

“The harassment of media professionals is a stark reminder of the threats posed to democratic values and the fundamental rights to seek, receive, and impart information without fear or hindrance,” Mwanza said.

She expressed solidarity with those who are targets of attack, and reaffirmed MISA’s commitment to defending journalists’ rights and protecting the integrity of the profession.

Mwanza further called on the government to address barriers preventing journalists from accessing public officials, emphasizing that public officials were custodians of critical information necessary for informed decision-making.

“When citizens have access to government data, they can better understand policies, monitor public spending, and advocate for change in their communities,” Mwanza noted.

She also appealed for the review and repeal of laws that undermine democracy, stressing the importance of enacting legislation that guarantees media freedom, freedom of expression, and digital rights, and commended the government for responding to calls from civil society organizations to withdraw the controversial Cyber Bills from Parliament.

Ministry of Information and Media Permanent Secretary, Thabo Kawana, in a speech read by Ministry Director Mordern Mayembe, reaffirmed government’s commitment to upholding media freedom and freedom of expression in Zambia.

Metro

Nigeria: 614,937 killed, 2.2m abducted in 1 year— Report

Published

13 hours ago

December 18, 2024

Isaac Dachen

A new report released on Tuesday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that over 614,937 Nigerians were killed and 2,235,954 others kidnapped across the country in one year between May 2023 and April 2024.

The NBS report, titled, “The Crime Experienced and Security Perception Survey (CESPS) 2024”, says based on the surveys conducted between May 2023 and April 2024, the 2.2 million Nigerians who were kidnapped across the country paid a whopping N2.2 trillion as ransom, with an average amount of N2.7 million per incident.

The report also disclosed that murder rate was highest in rural areas with 335,827 incidents and 279,110 in urban areas.

A zone-by-zone analysis of the report showed that the North-West had the highest murder cases of 206,030, followed by the North-East which stood at 188,992, while the least was recorded in the South-West at 15,693.

The report also revealed about seven in 10 households reported murder cases to the police nationwide with 33 per cent of households responding that the killer was an unknown person, and 23.4 per cent confirmed that the murderer was a member of the household; while 1.0 per cent reported that the murderer was either a spouse or a lover.

The report said 1,668,104 persons were kidnapped in rural areas and 567,850 in urban areas with the North-West having the highest cases of kidnapping with 1,420,307 abducted, followed by the North-Central with 317,837 and the South-East at 110,432.

“Of the estimated amount of N2.2 trillion payments to free victims, the North-West reported the highest ransom paid with N1.2 trillion; while the South-East was the least with N85.4 billion.

“Disaggregated by zones, the North-Central reported the highest proportion of payment of ransom at 83.4 per cent, followed by North-East at 78.6 per cent.

“Households in urban areas paid an average of N3.7 million compared to N2.3 million in rural areas,” the report stated.

It added that about 91 per cent of kidnapping incidents were done for ransom in the form of money, goods or other benefits.

“While 2.4 per cent of cases were attributed to political, criminal, or terrorist objectives; 2.1 per cent were linked to personal or family disputes. Custody disputes accounted for 0.5 per cent of cases,” the report said.