Gambian Women face renewed threat of FGM

In 2015, Gambia did something that few African countries dared: they banned Female Genital Mutilation, or FGM. The penalty for mutilating young women is up to 3 years in jail, and a fine of no less than 700 USD (which is a substantial sum there). Recently, politicians, along with religious leaders, are demanding it be “decriminalized”.

Muslim Imams have been fighting to reinstate the barbaric practice, claiming that the law is “anti-Islamic”. One imam, named Abdoulie Fatty, recently paid the fines of three women that had been found guilty, effectively telling others in the community that anyone caught destroying the reproductive organs of young women would be helped.

“We want to tell them that anybody who blew the whistle on these women and those who arrested them and the magistrate who sentenced them and any other person who support them, we will curse them until we leave this world to ensure that Allah destroys them. That will deter others. We don’t want violence but enough is enough. Let us stop provoking and offending each other. We should follow the command of Prophet Muhammad. Instead, they are fighting Islam, but Allah will be the judge.”

To be clear, FGM, which is mainly practiced in African countries, is never mentioned in any Islamic doctrine. It’s origins date back thousands of years, when it was forced upon Egyptian slaves to ensure their fidelity. It has since evolved into a ritual designed to forever destroy the ability for women to enjoy sex. Instead, procreation is to be forever be painful and associated with shame (just the way religion likes it).

Islam’s perpetual fear of the opposite sex is evident in how every restrictive and sexist practice is enthusiastically adopted by the faith. The abuse of women and Islam go together like peanut butter and jelly; it’s a match made in heaven. How women can not only tolerate, but actively participate in this murderous cult is beyond me, and will forever remain one of the great tragedies of existence.