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Claim: A religious leader in The Gambia, Imam Abdoulie Fatty, asserted that female genital mutilation (FGM) has no health implications.
Verdict: This claim is false. DUBAWA’s checks have revealed there are serious health consequences for anyone who undergoes female genital mutilation. “FGM has no health benefits…it can lead to immediate health risks, as well as a variety of long-term complications affecting women’s physical, mental and sexual health and well-being throughout the life course,” the World Health Organisation (WHO) said.
Full Text
On March 18, 2024, lawmakers in The Gambia voted to overturn a nine-year ban on female genital mutilation (FGM) that has been in place since 2015. The legislators in the West African nation voted 42 to four to advance a controversial bill which would repeal the landmark 2015 ban on FGM that made the practice punishable by up to three years in prison.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has defined female genital mutilation/cutting as “all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.”
Reacting to the steps taken to lift the ban on FGM, a Muslim scholar and preacher in The Gambia, Imam Abdoulie Fatty, said the practice has no health implications to warrant a ban.
“What people are saying about Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is not true. One Dr Jack Faal, who is a medical Doctor, once said all what people are saying about FGM is not true. During the process of cutting, the blood that the victim loses is very small and cannot cause any health implications. If a woman is circumcised, she recovers very fast when compared to other bodily wounds. Surgery kills and is still killing people,” he said in the Hausa dialect during an interview posted on Facebook, starting from minute 0.20 to 01.20.
He continued, “What we normally cut during female circumcision is very small. FGM is not only our culture, but it’s part of our Islamic religion. They want us to abandon the Holy Book of Allah and the Sunnah of his Prophet to accept the wishes of only a few people’s decisions. As of today, we say no to the wishes of these few people and will follow the Sunnah of the Prophet and whatever you want to do, go ahead.”
DUBAWA decided to fact-check the imam’s assertion because of the interest it has generated in the West African country and for public health safety.
Verification
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that there are no health benefits for persons who undergo female genital mutilation. On the contrary, the procedure can lead to immediate health risks.
“All forms of FGM are associated with increased health risk in the short- and long-term. FGM is a harmful practice and is unacceptable from a human rights as well as a public health perspective, regardless of who performs it,” the WHO said.
Some of the health risks associated with FGM are severe pain, excessive bleeding (haemorrhage), shock, genital tissue swelling, infections, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), urination problems, impaired wound healing, mental problems and in certain cases, death.
Also, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of America noted that although FGM is seen as part of the culture of certain countries where it is practised, it has no “health benefits.”
“In fact, it can lead to immediate and long-term health problems that can affect obstetric, gynaecological, sexual, and psychological health,” America’s foremost health authority said.
According to a report by Mayo Clinic, the health complications of FGM can be categorised into early and late complications.
“Frequently seen early complications include bleeding, infection, and urinary retention. In general, fewer immediate complications are seen with type 1 FGC, with bleeding and urinary retention still occurring at low rates,” the report reads (see page 623).
The report further noted that the common late complications from FGM can be organised by the “type of symptom, with most falling into categories of urinary complications, scarring, pain, infection, infertility, and sexual dysfunction.”
Similarly, a report authored by a senior lecturer at the School of Nursing and a researcher at the Africa Coordinating Centre for the Abandonment of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (ACCAF), Dr Samuel Kimani, revealed the practice has serious health consequences for girls and women.
The report titled, Health impacts of female genital mutilation/cutting: a synthesis of the evidence revealed that,
“The health impacts associated with FGM/C that require interventions have been broadly categorised into immediate, genito-urinary, gynaecological, obstetric, sexual and psycho-social consequences.” See paragraph 3 of page iv of the report.
“The cutting of women’s and girls’ clitoris and labia is usually done with crude unsterile instruments and without anaesthesia by traditional practitioners who have little knowledge of female anatomy—the cutting results in immediate harm. Bleeding (haemorrhage) occurs due to laceration or severing of branches of the pudendal or clitoral arteries, which have high blood pressure, causing a strong flow of blood during and shortly after the cutting process,” the report said. See paragraph 2 of page 5 of the report.
DUBAWA contacted a human rights activist in The Gambia, Fatou Suna, who said female genital mutilation is a human rights violation and has a lot of health issues.
“Over the past few months, I joined a team that went out to different communities and engaged women and girls on this FGM issue, but even those who were conducting it testified that the practice is harmful,” she said.
The Communications Officer for Catch Them Young, a human rights group in The Gambia, told DUBAWA:
“We will continue with the advocacy until we get what we want. We want to make sure that the practice is eradicated in The Gambia and beyond. FGM kills slowly,” she said.
Conclusion
Based on various research reports authored by reputable health organisations and experts, it is therefore not true that Female Genetic Mutilation (FGM) has no health implications as alleged by the Islamic scholar Imam Abdoulie Fatty.
