BBC Politics covers The Gambia’s FGM ban reverse debate with The Vavengers

BBC News Politics reported on the debate taking place in The Gambia’s parliament on reversing a ban on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting. If agreed in next month’s final debate in The Gambia, the country could become the first to reverse a legal ban on this form of violence, putting hundreds of thousands of girl children at risk.

Last week Halimot Ogunnaike, Our Community Ambassador and founder of Haliberry CIC, spoke to BBC reporter Helen Drew at our Vavengers headquarters and safe space. Sharing her perspective as a survivor and activist, Halimot explained her worries about how this law could put girl children across Africa at risk by sending the wrong message from a government level to The Gambia.

Halimot called for officials in The Gambia to learn from her story as an African survivor and make a decision that protects the safety of Gambian children.

In the report Huda Mohamed MBE an FGM/C specialist midwife, also shared her concerns about this potential law-change influencing global diaspora communities (for example in the UK), speaking from her clinical experience.

Our CEO Sema Gornall then joined a live debate at BBC Politics, hosted by Samantha Simmonds with Theresa Villiers MP and Fleur Anderson MP as parliamentary commentator guests. The panel discussed the impact this law change could have globally. Sema made clear that whatever happens campaigners across the world would continue tirelessly to stop this law. Representing survivors and The Vavengers, she called for The Gambian government to do the right thing and keep the law banning FGM/C in place, urging the country to see its role on safeguarding girl children.

If you would like to take action on this issue, please sign the petition by Nalafem and follow and reach out to anti-FGM/C organisations working in the space.

BBC London evening news re-run of the story