Gambia parliament rejects bill to end ban on female genital mutilation
Updated: 9:25am Dakar, Senegal Reuters Gambia’s parliament on Monday rejected a bill that would have ended a ban on female genital mutilation, after lawmakers voted down all the clauses in the proposed law. “The ban on FGM is still firmly maintained in the Gambia,” the Ministry of Information said in a statement after the vote. […]
Gambia: How a bid to unban FGM divides families and parliament
SOFIA CHRISTENSEN, of Reuters, reports from Gambia, ahead of an attempt in parliament to repeal a ban on female genital mutilation (FGM)…
Gambia lawmakers back recommendations to maintain FGM ban
Dakar, Senagal Reuters Gambian lawmakers adopted recommendations on Monday for the country to maintain its ban on female genital mutilation ahead of a vote later this month on whether to decriminalise the practice. Female genital mutilation (FGM) has been outlawed in Gambia since 2015, but the deeply rooted cultural practice remains widespread in the West […]
Ugandan faith leaders work to confront increase in gender-based violence
Bupoto, Uganda RNS Residents of Bupoto, a town in eastern Uganda, are still in disbelief months after police arrested a 48-year-old pastor accused of hacking his 44-year-old wife to death. “The pastor killed his pregnant wife because he suspected her of having an extramarital affair with another man in this area,” said Irene Mukasa, a […]
Gambian parliament debates bill to reverse ban on female genital mutilation
Banjul, Gambia Reuters Gambian lawmakers on Monday debated whether to repeal a ban on female genital mutilation, which has been on the rise in recent years despite activist campaigns to end the practice. The small West African nation imposed steep fines and jail sentences in 2015 for those who carry out female circumcision, known by […]
Wow!: Nurse-midwife Edna Adan Ismail, opponent of female genital mutilation, wins Templeton Prize
Dr Edna Adan Ismail is the first African woman to receive the prize, which is valued £1.1 million. KATHRYN POST, of Religion News Service, reports…
Pope says women’s rights fight is “continuous struggle”, condemns mutilation
Updated: 10:30am (AEST) Aboard the papal plane Reuters Pope Francis said on Sunday the fight for women’s rights was a “continuous struggle”, and condemned male chauvinism as deadly for humanity and female genital mutilation as a crime that must be stopped. Speaking to reporters on the plane returning from a four-day trip to predominantly Muslim […]
Child protection: How pastors in Kenya are helping girls escape FGM and early marriage
TONNY ONYULO reports on how church leaders are working to address issues like female genital mutiliation and child marriage, providing safe spaces and access to education…
Kenya court ruling gives boost to fight against FGM
Nairobi, Kenya Thomson Reuters Foundation Kenya’s High Court ruling upholding a ban on female genital mutilation will give a much needed boost to the fight to end the widely condemned practice in the East African nation, women’s rights groups said this week. One in five Kenyan women and girls aged between 15 and 49 have […]
US toughens ban on “abhorrent” female genital mutilation
Thomson Reuters Foundation The United States has toughened its ban on the “abhorrent practice” of female genital mutilation in a move campaigners hope will bolster efforts to end an ancient rite forced on millions of girls worldwide. The United States had already outlawed the widely condemned ritual, which dates back more than 2,000 years, but […]