18 Circumcisers ‘Drop the Knife’
Friday 27th April 2007

Recently the Gambia Cultural and Traditional Practices (GAMCOTRAP) organised a press conference at its office in Bakau on the occasion of the celebration of “Dropping the Knife” of eighteen circumcisers and their communities, which will be formally celebrated on 5 May.

According to the Executive Director of GAMCOTRAP, Dr Isatou Touray, GAMCOTRAP has for many years engaged the citizenry with a series of sensitization and awareness creation activities on traditional practices.

The aim of the campaign, she said, is to protect the sexual and reproductive health rights of women and children against harmful traditional practices and other degrading practices that affect the wellbeing of women and the girl-child.

Key among the harmful traditional practices, she added, are female genital mutilation, early and forced marriage, and domestic violence amongst others.

“It was a great challenge to open discussion on jealously guarded secrets about FGM which was wrongfully associated with religion thus making the debate more sensitive for women’s rights activities,” she said.

“However, with effective social mobilisation, tact and frankness, the topic is now subjected to debate amongst different sectors of society. It is no longer a taboo.”

Dr Touray said the outcomes of such advocacy training activities have motivated eighteen Circumcisers to publicly declare to the world and Gambians in particular that they have taken the decision to stop FGM in their communities.

“These Ngansingbaloo/Ngamanorlu who have been strategic target for GAMCOTRAP, have useful roles and responsibilities they assume in their various communities,” she said, adding: “They also serve as role models for other women. They assume the role of traditional Birth Attendants, mediators for women between the council of elders, traditional healers and these positive roles and responsibilities shall be preserved.”

GAMCOTRAP decided to celebrate the “Sheroines” for making a decision to stop FGM, for assuming leadership in protecting girls from FGM and never to pass the knife, Dr Touray noted.

She noted that the empowerment process did not only focus on the curcumcisers but on other actors in the community such as men as fathers and heads of households, women as mothers and mostly responsible for facilitating the circumcision of their girl child, the village head and Imams whose decisions are respected and upheld by all in their communities, and the youths and adolescents who are the future parents and leaders in their communities.

She also recognised and applauded the sustained support provided by the donors and partners such as Save the Children Sweden Fund based in Dakar, Senegal, Equality Now, FOKUS/NKFT and the Inter African Committee (IAC) that facilitate the process.

“This is the first time that a public declaration will be made by the actual circumcisers with their communities to inform the general public at large about stopping FGM,” the GAMCOTRAP executive director said.