An independent lawmaker has introduced a bill in Gambia’s parliament to repeal the ban on female genital mutilation (FGM).
It was banned in the Muslim-majority country in 2015 when Yahya Jammeh was president.
He said that is not necessary in Islam.
However, influential Muslim clerics have called for the ban to be lifted, while women’s rights activists have vowed to work to ensure it remains in place.
Mr Jammeh’s 22-year authoritarian rule ended in 2016.
According to the United Nations, more than three-quarters of Gambian women between the ages of 15 and 49 have undergone genital mutilation.
In the most severe form of this surgery, the sensitive clitoris is removed, and then the genitals are cut open and sutured shut, preventing the woman from having or enjoying sex.
Supporters of outspoken Muslim cleric Abdouli Fatih rallied to support the bill just before it was introduced in parliament on Monday.
They shouted: “Female circumcision is my religious belief. Gambia is not for sale.”
Last year, the cleric paid fines for three women convicted of FGM against girls. supported.
At the time, the Islamic Supreme Council, the main body of Islamic clerics in Gambia, called for the ban to be lifted.
There are various views on this practice in Islam, and some influential scholars, including Egyptian scholars, oppose it.
Gambian lawmaker Armamme Ghiba, who supports the bill, said the bill aims to “maintain religious purity and protect cultural norms and values,” the private newspaper Point reported.
He said that if this act was done properly it could not be called mutilation.
Anna Nye, president of the Gambia Women Lawyers Association, said lifting the ban was a setback.
“While we do not have the power to tell Parliament what to do, we reserve the right in our constitution to take legal action if certain fundamental rights are violated,” a local newspaper said.
The Standard carried her remarks.
Parliamentary Majority Party Leader Vilay Tankara said he had not yet decided whether to support the bill.
“We are taking our time because this is a very sensitive area that involves not only religious and cultural aspects but also human rights and health issues,” he said.