We need you to take three urgent actions

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John:

I’m writing today under urgent circumstances – The Gambia’s Women’s Amendment Act 2015, which criminalizes female genital mutilation (FGM) and helps protect women and girls from human rights abuse, is at risk. This Thursday, 4 July, the Parliamentary Select Committee will present a report on the amendment bill that proposes repealing the Act’s provisions criminalizing FGM. The Bill will then be voted on by the National Assembly on 24 July.

In The Gambia, almost three-quarters of women and girls aged between 15 and 49 have undergone FGM. The majority (65%) of them underwent FGM before the age of five.*

Repealing the anti-FGM law in The Gambia would have serious and far-reaching consequences including reversing the gains made in safeguarding the rights and well-being of women and girls.

Equality Now is partnering with a number of local organizations, including Gambia Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children, in The Gambia and jointly undertaking a comprehensive campaign to defend the Women’s Amendment Act 2015, but we need your help.

Before Thursday, please take three actions to support the women and girls of The Gambia and help prevent FGM from becoming legal again:
1. Call on The Gambian Government to honor its commitment to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women(CEDAW), the Maputo Protocol, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, and more. Sign our partner’s petition and share it with your friends, family, and colleagues. ([link removed])
2. Help us raise awareness about this threat to women and girls by sharing our partner's petition on social media. ([link removed]) Use the hashtag #StopFGMGambia and tag Equality Now (@equalitynoworg on Instagram and @equalitynow on X/Twitter).
3. Support the Equality Now team and our partners with an urgent donation. ([link removed]) In response to the amendment bill, we started a comprehensive media advocacy campaign to ensure accurate information about FGM is shared, educate the public, and amplify survivor voices. We’ve also engaged in legal advocacy, developing legal opinions and arguments to highlight the importance of an anti-FGM law, and strategically and financially supported local organizations to convene, coalesce, and engage communities, traditional and religious leaders, journalists, and Members of Parliament to discuss the negative effects of FGM. Your contribution will support these efforts and more.

We have a small window, until 24th July, to raise awareness about this new threat to women’s and girls’ rights in The Gambia and to build a collective voice in support of the original Women’s Amendment Act 2015. Please join us today. Every petition signature, post on social media, and donation matter. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Divya Srinivasan
Global Lead, End Harmful Practices

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* 2019-20 Gambian Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS).

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