FGM: Outrage as baby dies after genital mutilation in The Gambia

[Eugene]

Source: BBC

Outrage as baby dies after genital mutilation in The Gambia

11 August 2025

Thomas Naadi
BBC News

The death of a one-month-old baby girl who was the victim of female genital mutilation (FGM) in The Gambia has sparked widespread outrage.

The baby was rushed to a hospital in the capital, Banjul, after she developed severe bleeding, but was pronounced dead on arrival, police said.

Although an autopsy is still being conducted to establish the cause of her death, many people have linked it to FGM, or female circumcision, a cultural practice outlawed in the West African state.

"Culture is no excuse, tradition is no shield, this is violence, pure and simple," a leading non-governmental organisation, Women In Leadership and Liberation (WILL), said in a statement.

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Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6200g5d4jlo