DECLARATION

DEDICATION

This work is solely dedicated to my mother for warm hugs, comforting words and beautiful

memories borne of love to last me a dozen lifetimes.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I begin by thanking GOD for seeing me through this work. Special acknowledgement goes

to my supervisor Mr Lamin Suwareh for his patience and guidance. I would be an ingrate

if I did not thank these accommodating individuals, : Mr. Alkali jabbieM. Jabbie, Lamin O

Beyai, Omar Ceesay, and Yakub Jabbie and Muhammed Sillah. A I extend my most

heartfelt “thank you” to every single one of you.

ABSTRACT

FGM/C is a topic that has received a great deal of attention and has been debated all

around the world. itIt is the collective term given to any cutting or alteration done to the

female genitalia for non-medical reasons (source). FGM/C is seen both as a serious health

risk which usually births a series of long and short term complications for women and girls

and a violation of the rights of women and girls (source).

All around the world, nations have enacted laws which make the practice of FGM/C illegal

(source) and this research aimed at discovering the perceptions of the ban within my study

area. One thing we have learnt from history is that laws alone are not enough to bring

about behavioral change a sometimes they tend to produce results that are opposite to why

they were passed.

The study found that anti-FGM/C laws are not appreciated or welcome by the community

who regard FGM/C as an integral part of their cultural, social and religious identities.

Incomplete
Table of content
 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Female Genital Mutilation or cutting (FGM/C) refers to all procedures that involve the

partial or total removal of female external genitalia and or injury to the female genital

organs for all non-medical purposes(‘Legislative Reform To Support the Abandonment of

Female’, 2010). It is a harmful traditional practice associated with immediate and long

term consequences on the health of women and girls. The term “mutilation” while

reinforcing the idea that the practice is a violation of women and girls’ rights is perceived

as “excessively judgmental by outsiders” (UNFPA, 2013) and insensitive towards the

individuals who have undergone the procedure so in light of this, “ FGM/C” will be used

throughout my work which is currently the term being used by all United Nations (UN)

agencies.

On estimate 200 million women and girls have been subjected to FGM/C while 3

million remain at risk every year (Al-Nagar et al., 2017). This practice is mostly

concentrated in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and migrant populations within Europe

and South America(Marcusán et al., 2016). Africa alone accounts for 125 million of

recorded cases. In The Gambia the prevalence of the FGM/C is 74.9% in women aged

between 15 and 49; this is close to three quarters of the female population despite

state laws to ban the tradition in the country (Wassu Gambia Kafo, 2018).
Health workers all over the globe have been found to be engaged in the practice. This is

considered one of the biggest setbacks to the fight to eradicate FGM/C all around the

world. Medicalization of the act is proposed by some health workers as a solution to reduce

the overall complications that accompany FGM/C (‘Understanding Medicalisation of FGM

/ C : a Qualitative Study of Parents and Health’, 2018). This is however not a solution

against the long term complications and have no benefit to the females (Wassu Gambia

Kafo, 2018).

Various strategies have been employed to eradicate the practice including state legislations

criminalizing the act. The Gambia in 2015 became the 29th African country with laws

banning the practice of FGM/C (Report et al., 2018).

1.1 PROBLEM STATEMENT

Female genital mutilation is a highly practiced, deeply rooted traditional practice with no

health benefits whatsoever. It entails any form of alteration to the external female genitalia

for non-medical reasons. FGM/C puts the life and health of women and girls at high risks

and it can breed complications which can be either long or short term. They include severe

bleeding, septicemia, infection and low self-esteem and sometimes death(WHO, 2010).

The majority of FGM/C practice is concentrated in 29 Africa, Asia and the Middle East

with countries like Egypt, Somalia and Sudan being categorized as high prevalence

nations(Berg, 2014)
Female Genital Mutilation / Cutting has been put on the Human Rights agenda meriting

condemnation by international bodies like the world health organization (WHO). It is

recognized as being a violation of women’s and girls’ reproductive and human rights(28

Too Many, 2018).

1,2 RESEARCH SETTING

The research will be conducted in Bundung, an urban settlement within the Kanifing

Municipal Council (KMC) with a total population of 55,360 (females=27,424,

males=27,936). My study will be narrowed down to one of the sub settlements, Bundung

Bantaba. Within the settlement are different ethnic groups including the Mandinka, Fula,

Jola and Serers. Percentile distribution of these different ethnic groups is not available but

the Mandinkas are most likely to have the uppermost practice rate FGM/C as they have

been recorded with the highest prevalence in the country.

1.3 AIM

To explore the various perceptions of Bundung Bantaba residents on the ban placed on

FGM/C practice

1.4. OBJECTIVES

To identify how many people, believe FGM/C should not be banned within Bundung

bantaba
To identify how many people, agree with the ban on FGM/C practice within Bundung

bantaba

1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

What are the different views and perceptions on the FGM/C ban?

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

FGM/C practice, in addition to being a serious threat to the life and health of women and

girls has also been established as a violation of a series of human rights. Legislations

banning the practice have been a topic of controversy with critics claiming bans will reap

rebellion in the population and drive the act underground (UNFPA,2013). My research will

provide information on how people really perceive the ban placed on this deeply rooted

traditional practice and hopefully help individuals and organizations who fight this

practice.
 CHAPTER TWO

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Concept of compliance

Compliance is an important idea when discussing regulations or laws and it may be defined

as a state of conformity between an individual’s behavior and an actual law. It is important

to differentiate between “implementation” and “effectiveness” because a law may be

perfectly implemented and still be ineffective. According to Kent (2011) Ccompliance

follows the following five stages: (Kent,2011).

RATIFICATION.

This is the process by which proposed laws, treaties and agreements are officially

recognized and validated usually by a vote.

PROCEDURAL COMPLIANCE

. This Iinvolves executing laws against a defined set of standard even when it is possible

that alternative approaches could achieve the same or better results. When standards are

arbitrary we get chaos especially in an environment where infinite possibilities exist and

individual preferences prevail

SUBSTANTIVE COMPLIANCE

This means adherence with the essential requirements of a law or agreement that satisfies

its purpose its objective even though its formal requirements are not complied with.

DE JURE COMPLIANCE

De Jure compliance literally translates to “lawful”. It describes practices, laws, regulations

which are legally recognized regardless whether the practice exists in reality.

DE FACTO COMPLIANCE

De facto compliance is a Latin word meaning for “in fact” and deals withrefers to

situations that exist in reality even if they are not necessarily recognized by the law.

…
PROBLEM STATEMENT

Female genital mutilation is a highly practiced, deeply rooted traditional practice with no

health benefits whatsoever. It entails any form of alteration to the external female genitalia

for non-medical reasons. FGM/C puts the life and health of women and girls at high risks

and it can breed complications which can be either long or short term. They include severe

bleeding, septicemia, infection and low self-esteem and sometimes death(WHO, 2010).

The majority of FGM/C practice is concentrated in 29 Africa, Asia and the Middle East

with countries like Egypt, Somalia and Sudan being categorized as high prevalence

nations(Berg, 2014)

Female Genital Mutilation / Cutting has been put on the Human Rights agenda meriting

condemnation by international bodies like the world health organization (WHO). It is

recognized as being a violation of women’s and girls’ reproductive and human rights(28

Too Many, 2018).

RESEARCH SETTING

The research will be conducted in Bundung, an urban settlement within the Kanifing

Municipal Council (KMC) with a total population of 55,360 (females=27,424,

males=27,936). My study will be narrowed down to one of the sub settlements, Bundung

Bantaba. Within the settlement are different ethnic groups including the Mandinka, Fula,

Jola and Serers. Percentile distribution of these different ethnic groups is not available but
the Mandinkas are most likely to have the uppermost practice rate FGM/C as they have

been recorded with the highest prevalence in the country.

AIM

To explore the various perceptions of Bundung Bantaba residents on the ban placed on

FGM/C practice

OBJECTIVES

To identify how many people, believe FGM/C should not be banned within bundung

bantaba

To identify how many people, agree with the ban on FGM/C practice within bundung

bantaba

RESEARCH QUESTION

What are the different views and perceptions on the FGM/C ban?

SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

FGM/C practice, in addition to being a serious threat to the life and health of women and

girls has also been established as a violation of a series of human rights. Legislations

banning the practice have been a topic of controversy with critics claiming bans will reap
rebellion in the population and drive the act underground (UNFPA,2013). My research will

provide information on how people really perceive the ban placed on this deeply rooted

traditional practice and hopefully help individuals and organizations who fight this

practice.

CHAPTER THREE

LITERATURE REVIEW

FGM/C is a harmful traditional practice which in addition to causing a myriad of health

complications violates a series of human Rights. Efforts to end the practice have been long

and extensive dating all the way back to the early 20th century (Wassu Gambia Kafo,

2018). Over the years resolutions and statements condemning the act have been made at

various international forums which have immensely contributed greatly towards

developing national legislations to criminalize the act. However, attempting to ban a

practice which is perceived to be part of the identity of a group of people is always

challenging. In many of the countries around the world with anti-FGM/C laws perpetrators

are rarely successfully prosecuted for a smattering of reasons one of which is that the act is

highly under reported. In the UK where a research was conducted among FGM/C

survivors, most of the participants stated that people don’t report FGM/C because they

sometimes feared condemnation and retribution by the wider community () which

perceives this as an act of betrayal. There are also those who simply would not like to

make their family affairs public which usually is the result of any case brought before the

law and related to FGM/C (Gangoli et al., 2018).

Where there used to be ceremonies celebrating FGM/C as a rite of passage for girls, the

criminalization of the act despite aiming to end it has turned it into a secret affair that is

now carried out on infants who will not remember the experience and usually only the

closest relations of the child know about it (Gangoli et al., 2018). This only goes to show

that the wider community, despite having an idea of the complications and violations of the

act still perceive it as a necessary piece of their identity and worth the risk of prosecution.

It is because of this that critics of legislations that ban the act argue that legal prohibitions

will only drive the act underground which will consequently make it more difficult to

contain (UNFPA, 2013). It is also believed that community engagement is a better

instrument of abandonment for it build trust and promotes peace between the public and

the government and all NGOs fighting to end FGM/C (Gangoli et al., 2018)

27 of the 30 African countries where FGM/C is practiced have laws criminalizing the act,

The Gambia included. In 2015 sections 32A and 32B were introduced into the Women’s

Act of 2010 (Report et al., 2018). According to the country’s constitution all practice,

requests, promotion and/or aiding of the act in any way is considered criminal as is failure

to warn or inform authorities of any knowledge of FGM/C being or about to be practiced.

Penalties range from monetary fines of up to D50,000 to imprisonment. The amendment

however does not specifically criminalize medicalization or cross border FGM/C (Report

et al., 2018). In cross border FGM/C individuals travel across the borders of their country

to have it practiced.
The table below is a list of some statements and resolutions on FGM/C worldwide (Berer,

2015).

TABLE 1. Statements and resolutions on FGM/C worldwide

YEAR AGENCY ACTION

1990 The Convention on the Elimination of General recommendation No.14 calls for
all forms of Discrimination Against eradication of FGM/C
Women (CEDAW)

1990 Organization of African Unity African Charter on the Rights and Welfare
of the Child

1993 World conference human rights FGM/C recognized as a Human Rights

violation

1997 WHO, UNICEF & UNFPA Joint statement against FGM/C

2002 UN general assembly Resolution against FGM/C

2003 UN Declares first international day of zero

tolerance to FGM/C , 6th February

2011 Committee on the rights of the child General comment No.13 : children should
be free from harmful practices including
FGM/C

2014 The Girl Generation Worldwide campaign opposing FGM/C

…
 CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

3.0 INTRODUCTION

3.1 STUDY TYPE

A non-intervention explorative qualitative research design was used in my study.

3.2 STUDY POPULATION

The population of the study consisted of adult males and females residing in bundung

Bundung bantaba involving different age groups from 18 above and this allowed me access

to diverse views and positions on the topic.

3.3 SAMPLING SIZE AND TECHNIQUE

A sampling size of 10 participants was used and judgement sampling technique was

employed which is extremely convenient, less time consuming, offers no barriers while

also allowing for direct communication with the audience of my choice.

3.4 INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA

Adult mMales and females residing in Bundung and that consented to participate in the

study will be taken. Any individual who did not fit all of the criteria mentioned was

automatically excluded.

3.5DATA COLLECTION TOOLS

Data was collected using an in-depth interview guide and an audio recording device.

3.6 DATA ANALYSIS

The digitally recorded Data data was analyzed using the thematic approach. Data was

digitally recorded, transcribed, organized, coded and combined into themes which were

presented in a cohesive manner.

3.7 ETHICAL CONSIDERATION

The Alkalo of Bundung was visited and my intention of conducting a study within his

villageit was explained to him my intention of conducting a study within his village and his

consent was sought. As for the participants, the pPurpose of the study was explained to

respondents and their consent was also soughttaken. Since FGM/C is a controversial issue
dealing with the law, confidentiality was maintained and respondents’ were given

anonymity while remembering to tread lightly on people’s cultural sensitivities.

3.8 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

 CHAPTER FOUR

DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

4.0 INTRODUCTION

During the interviews, discussions were digitally recorded while notes were taken.

Afterwards recordings were transcribed and themes were isolated, explored and patterns

between them were identified. Later on basic themes were grouped into central or

overarching themes.

Quite a number of themes arose during interviews which were grouped into three main

themes, : driving forces behind the practice, politics, awareness and perception of ban

and the theme of compliance.

4.1 THEME 1

4.1.1 DRIVING FORCES BEHIND THE PRACTICE.

A plethora of reasons and rationales have been provided as the motivations behind the

practice of FGM/C by respondents that touched upon concepts of easing childbirth,

religion, tradition, controlling the sexual desires of girls and manners

4.1.1.1 CULTURE AND TRADITION.

As one of our respondents (no. ?) described summarised in this very common sentenceas,

“… this practice, we found it here. Our ancestors were doing it and they passed it

on to us and we did it as well”.

For most of the respondents FGM/C is a huge part of their cultural identity.

4.1.1.2 EASING CHILDBIRTH.

One of the more interesting beliefs I came across is the perception that FGM/C eases birth

for the circumcised woman. It is believed that if the clitoris is not cut it would cause

multiple complications for the woman in labor and this notion was shared by four of the

eight (8) women I interviewed.

4.1.1.3 RELIGION.

This was the most pointed out motivation behind the practice. one of the male participants

(no. ?) said, and I quote …

“this act was being practiced during the time of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). He

knew about it and I heard my ustadh Ustadh (religious teacher in Islam) say

that someone under his (the Prophet PBUH) care underwent it”.
A lot of trust and significance is placed on the preaching of religious leaders especially the

iImams in the Muslim faith. For most of the respondents, practicing FGM/C is fulfillment

of a religious requirement because not circumcising a girl would mean that they are impure

as one of the female respondents explained “when a woman is uncut, she is impure. She is

just travelling around with filth and she will not be pure unless she undergoes the practice.

she is required by the religion to be circumcised”

4.1.1.4 CONTROLLING SEXUAL DESIRES AND MANNERS.

“when a woman gets married and she is uncircumcised, she will play around

because uncut women are impossible to satisfy” (male respondent, no.?)

said one of the male respondents. The notion that FGM/C prevents promiscuity, I

discovered is still widely shared. According to most of our respondents, circumcised girls

are thought the proper way to behave especially with regard to the opposite gender so the

problem of “shamelessness” is “most common” in girls who are uncut.

“circumcisionCircumcision isn’t what it used to be. Back in the days, our young

were well mannered and respectful because no one interfered with us

practicing it.” Pointing to his son who had sat down beside us the respondent said

“in the olden days, this would not have happened. He would not have come

and sat between us while we spoke because he would have known that it isn’t

good manners to sit in between elders while they spoke”

4.2 THEME 2

4.2.1 AWARENESS AND PERCEPTION OF THE BAN

Majority of participants had very strong views on the complications of FGM/C and the

ban. All of the participants knew about the ban either from radio shows or the TV and none

of them with the exception of one agreed with the ban and that was a young mother of one

aged 22 who claimed to not know enough about FGM/C to be able to say whether or not

there should be a ban placed on it. Different reasons were cited for their opposition to the

ban…

“the west is trying to fight and divide us so they cooked up all of these stories

about complications which we never heard of before their involvement in the

matter. They are trying to get us to forget our roots”

Traditional healer and father of three (Respondent no.?) had to say.

A lot of skepticism was displayed where complications of FGM/C was concerned. Some

respondents (no. ???) were of the notion that

“if it was harmful the prophet (PBUH) would have condemned it, but he did

not. the west is trying to end Islam and this is why they are attacking this

“Sunnah” of ours.”

And that,
 “if it was harmful then our grandmothers would not have kept on practicing it”

(Respondent no. ?)

It was staunchly believed by at least three (3) of the respondents that these harmful effects

of FGM/C were made up by the west to sabotage “us and our traditions”.

Among the participants was a sense of betrayal by our authorities for “siding with the

west” against their kind. This was best summarized by respondent no. ? as follows:

“our governments are letting the west bribe them with money and they are

doing whatever the west wants including placing bans on our culture and

traditions”

There was a huge sense of indignation regarding the criminalization of the practice It was

perceived, as stated by a 28-year-old mom of one (Respondent no. ?) that the ban was…

“…. imposed on us. The government did not even bother to ask what we

thought about the matter before all of a sudden asking us to abandon

something which is a part of our identity”

She, like two other participants believed the ban would not have been so offensive if NGOs

and government bodies responsible for lawmaking and abolishing FGM/C had gone to the

communities and initiated dialogue between them and the rest of the public.

Another similar opinion emerged whereby respondent number 10, and mother of 4

mentioned that the ban is “right” but “premature”. She believed it should be the last option

to be considered of all abandonment approaches.

 “you cannot just out of the blue ask people to abandon an act that is so deeply

rooted within them and threaten them with punishments if they refuse to

comply. No one would like that”

4.3 THEME 3

4.3.1 COMPLIANCE

When asked whether or not they intended to comply with the criminalization of FGM/C, it

was very interesting to discover that the elderly who were perceived to be the most likely

to insist on performing and advocating for FGM/C actually turned out to be the most

cooperative.

An 80+ year old TBA (Respondent no. ?) who used to circumcise girls stated

“I am not happy with the ban, I am not. But no one can contest the authority

of “mansaMansa” (leader). No matter how much you dislike it, you have to

comply. There just isn’t anything you can do about it”

And this was basically the opinion of four other respondents but the majority stated quite

firmly that they intend to uphold their traditions and religious beliefs regardless of the

consequences. One partaker (Respondent no. ?) who is a traditional healer indicated that he

“will not give sacrifice my traditions and religious beliefs out of fear of man

and if “mansaMansa” punishes me for that, then so be it”

 CHAPTER FIVE

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS.

All around the globe, researchers have discovered quite a number of motivations behind

FGM/C practice but there are a few that are almost always cited wherever you go and the

respondents for this study were no different. During the interviews, three main themes

were identified, 1(driving forces behind the practice, awareness and perception of ban and

the theme of compliance). There is a lot of value placed on FGM/C practice as it is

believed to be integral in shaping and maintain a cultural identity and an essential tool in

passing down important values and wisdom of elder (Shell-duncan Duncan et al., 2018). It

is regarded as a fundamental part of a female’s life and claiming they should not undergo

the practice almost equates to robbing them of an essential right. The study determined that

there is a lot of doubt and an almost complete rejection of health risk messages. Claims of

medical harms related to the practice are disregarded because for those who are driven by

religious reasons, it would mean that their faith endorsed a harmful practice and that is a

notion none of them were willing to accept. Some are also of the concept that FGM/C is

actually a healthful practice and this is a widely shared view. It is believed to ease birth for

women, keep them clean and rid them of a “heavy” burden in the form of the clitoris.
Another reason for refuting FGM/C related health complication claims is that

acknowledging this would equate to challenging the wisdom of elders and denigrating the

principal importance of respecting our ancestors and the customs they pass down to us

(Shell-duncan Duncan et al., 2018)

Concerning the ban, there was an almost absolute disagreement and displeasure regarding

it. Most of the blame was placed on the west for interfering in matters regarded as private

and our leaders for allowing themselves be bribed into fighting their own. This sense of

betrayal was raw and sparked a lot of resentment towards the government specifically. The

study found that there was not a specific pattern when it came to which age or gender

groups were more open to embracing the desertion of FGM/C. majority of the elderly and

some of the younger generation were willing to comply with abandonment laws and

seemed more open to discussions and negotiations and with the senior generation this may

be a bit surprising since they have been regarded as the key advocates for the act which

allows them authority and reverence within their societies and so that would make them

unwilling to support the abandonment of the act according to (Shell-duncan Duncan et al.,

2018).

On the other end are those respondents who are not convinced of the adverse health effects

of the practice because they claimed to not have seen anyone suffer them and this might be

due to the fact that the most prevalent form of FGM/C practiced in The Gambia Is the type

1 or “clidoridectomy” and most medical complications are related to type 2 and 3 as shown

in the study, (‘Understanding Medicalisation of Fgm FGM / C : a Qualitative Study of

Parents and Health’, 2018). They perceive the ban as a betrayal and an abuse of power by

lawmakers and they stated that they have no intention of abandoning or calling for the
abandonment of the practice. This confirms predictions that criminalizing the act especially

before extensive communication and collaboration with the community could lead to

rebellion and drive the practice underground because even the participants who agree that

there should be a ban placed on FGM/C declared that it was too soon because there has not

been enough dialogue about it between NGOs, government bodies and the public (Gangoli

et al., 2018).
 CHAPTER SIX

IMPLICATION FOR PRACTICE

According to the findings of this research, FGM/C is considered an integral part of the

collective identities of community members for a variety of reasons ranging from religious

to perceived health benefits and majority of the participants in this study are unhappy with

the ban placed on the practice and are unwilling to comply with it. Since health

practitioners including nurses are part of society, there is a possibility that there are some

who would feel the same way. They might find themselves in a situation where they’d

have to choose between upholding their cultural beliefs and following the law and some

just might go ahead and participate in medicalization of the act. Medicalization entails any

partial or complete removal of any part of the female genitalia for non-medical purposes

done by health professionals. This would result in a nurse engaging in violating human

rights’ and ethical principles.

In the constitution, it states that anyone who is aware of FGM/C that is about to take place

is duty bound to report it and in a hospital setting refusing to perform the act on a girl child

at their relatives’ request will not be enough because there is a high chance that if you do

not perform it they’ll just find a traditional cutter to carry it out. In this situations health

workers again will find themselves in a dilemma because reporting a practice which might

be a deeply entrenched cultural belief might feel like a betrayal to one’s identity and

beliefs.
Health workers are usually seen as trustworthy and role models so in that light, all training

health personnel need to be educated on how to impart to the public the adverse medical

effects of FGM/C and also on how to handle FGM/C cases.

What of the health promotion role of the nurse?

 CHAPTER SEVEN

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

Female genital mutilation is a highly practiced, deeply rooted traditional practice with no

health benefits whatsoever. It entails any form of alteration to the external female genitalia

for non-medical reasons. FGM/C, in addition to putting the life and health of women and

girls at high risks is a violation of a series of women’s and girls’ rights. (WHO, 2010)

In 2015 sections 32A and 32B were introduced into the Women’s Act of 2010 of the

Gambian constitution banning all practice, requests, promotion and/or aiding of the act in

any way. failure to warn or inform authorities of any knowledge of FGM/C being or about

to be practiced is also considered criminal with penalties ranging from monetary fines of

up to D50,000 to imprisonment (Report et al., 2018).

This research sought to explore the various perceptions of the residents of Bundung

Bantaba on the ban placed on the practiced and it was discovered that majority of people

disagree and dislike that a practice which is deeply woven in the fabric of their identity has

been criminalized as the study discovered, most people intend to continue practicing

FGM/C because they believe they are doing it for the good of their female offspring and

upholding their cultural and religious values.

 CHAPTER EIGHT

RECOMMENDATION

For the successful improvement and maintenance of public cooperation in abandonment of

FGM/C, I recommend to the lawmaking and implementation bodies of the Gambia and all

who are dedicated to ending FGM/C in the Gambia to

 Continuously educate community members on FGM/C and its related health

complications through multiple platforms and means.

 Constantly provide community dialogue opportunities on FGM/C.

 Make sure to involve key influencers within community in FGM/C abandonment

interventions like religious figures, traditional rulers, health workers, revered public

figures etc.

 Reinforce FGM/C abandonment intervention.

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11. UNFPA (2013) ‘Driving Forces in Outlawing the Practice of Female Genital

Mutilation/Cutting in Kenya, Uganda and Guinea-Bissau’. Available at:

https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/resource-pdf/Legislation and

FGMC.pdf.

12. Wassu Gambia Kafo (2018) ‘the Gambia: the Law and Fgm’, (September), pp.

1–10. Available at: http://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR289/FR289.pdf.

13. WHC (2010) ‘Female Genital Mutilation / Cutting. A Literature Review’.