Infant dies of suspected female genital mutilation in The Gambia

Police in the West African country of The Gambia are investigating the death of an infant who is believed to have died as a result of female genital mutilation (FGM).

“Preliminary findings indicate the one month old girl was allegedly subjected to circumcision and later developed severe bleeding,” the police said.

On arrival at a hospital in the village of Wellingara on Sunday, the baby was declared dead.

According to the police, two women have been arrested in connection with the case.

More detailed investigations into the cause of the baby’s death had been launched.

FGM has been illegal since 2015 in The Gambia, a small country surrounded by Senegal, with a population of three million.

The term refers to the partial or complete removal of the labia and clitoris without medical reasons, often carried out using razor blades or knives without anaesthetic.

The centuries-old practice is tied to ideas about sexual purity and patriarchal control.

Although genital mutilation is recognise worldwide as a human rights violation, it continues to be carried out in 94 countries worldwide, according to the women’s rights organisation Equality Now.

In around 60 per cent of these countries, FGM is prohibited by law, but is still maintained for cultural reasons, mostly by traditional healers outside of medical facilities.

The death of the infant has led to a public outcry in The Gambia.

Human rights groups are calling on the government to tighten up the weak implementation of the law against genital mutilation.