Overview

• Gambian police say two women are in custody in Wellingara after a one-month-old girl was pronounced dead on arrival at a Banjul hospital with severe bleeding following an alleged FGM procedure.
• An autopsy is under way to determine if the infant’s death resulted from FGM, with Gambian law prescribing up to life imprisonment when the practice proves fatal.
• Women In Leadership and Liberation and other rights groups have condemned the tragedy as gender-based violence and demanded a full, impartial investigation.
• Campaigners report a growing trend of cutting very young infants to dodge prosecution under a law that has seen few convictions since its enactment.
• The Supreme Court is reviewing a challenge to the 2015 FGM ban, and activists warn its ruling will be pivotal for strengthening enforcement.