I just have to say that I am very hapy that so many men are voicing out their opinion on this topic. As I said before we need the support of the men to help educate people about FGM. I applaud you guys, Saiks, Matarr, Yusupha, Micheal, Haruna, Omar, etc... I am happy that Baboucar Jaata actually contributed because he was quickly made to realise that there was no way he can go around justifying the practice of FGM. I wish I could contribute more but ... yeah the usual excuse…work, work, work...

Yusupha Jow wrote:

Female circumcision, on the other hand, is performed to humble, subjugate and dominate a woman by removing her ability to derive sexual pleaure where it counts
  the most. This is akin to having someone lose one of their basic senses. (Touch, smell etc) 

Thank you very much for putting it the way it is. I don't think anyone could have said it better.

Fatou Nyang wrote:

I was hesitant into voicing my opinion afraid that someone will send me a private email and use some profanity on me and so i kept my pace. 

Fatou,

I am not criticising you. I respect you opnion not to say anything incase someone, as you put it  "will send me a private email and use some profanity"  but I am afraid that is one of  the problems with  us Gambians.  I really understand you because I have been there myself, always afraid to say what I felt when it comes to certain things about our culture I was afraid of what people would say. But if we don't say something who would?  Another thing  I have learnt is that whatever I do or say people would always judge me. Although I have had lots of mails privately supporting me for speaking out, I have also had a couple of phone calls and mails telling not to go too far in this subject(Yes Gambians) and some felt that I have to be careful because it involved the Imam. But I would continue to be vocal about it because I haven't said anything negative about the Imam. I still respect him as an elderly person in our soceity but it doesn't stop the fact that I am against FGM and would speak and do all I can to enlighten other people about it. I am very happy that we have a forum like Gambia-L. It gives us the chance to voice out our opinions. There are so many discussions going on here that I wish I could join but I just don't have the time and I know that there are so many things I want to do to make our society a better place, yet I know that I am one person and I have my limitations but there are two things that I would never shy away from and I would always have time for: Sexual and domestic violence against  women and FGM. So please speak up. We would need the voices of everyone but especially those of the  my fellow  sisters  to stop FGM.


Jamila wrote:

  As the debate proceeds, the next logical step may be to look at how 
  this forum can be used to developed proactive strategies for 
  facilitating educational activism to assist these communities, 
  villages, etc. to re think a cultural/traditional practice that is 
  indeed harmful to the well being of the African Woman...thus ultimately 
  harmful to the well being of the African family and community.

I agree with you and not only through this forum but we can also check with our local communities if there are anything we can do. Probably most of us cannot travel often home but I belief that we can do something whereever we are. FGM is being practiced right under our noses. People are taking their children away to be circumcised and coming back quietly into Europe, America, etc. Couple of years ago there was a documentary about FGM on a French channel where people were actually practicing it in France. We can start by helping to prevent those we can reach from going through this painful thing. I know that as a Gambian woman with a 6yr daughter, I have never felt the pressure to circumcise my daughter but again I keep asking myself how much do Gambians talk about it? I have learnt through MIRA Sentret(a woman organisation for foreigners here in Norway) that they have been having cases way back in the early nineties, where girls were running away from home because they don't want to go through it. Through them(MIRA) I was also able to get names of people that have been working with it here in Norway. I belief that these are organisations and people one can contact and find out how to help because they've got the experience and the contacts.


Isatou