FGM Bill rejected

Gambian lawmakers have rejected a Bill seeking to overturn a 2015 ban on female genital mutilation (FGM). Speaker of Parliament Fabakary Tombong Jatta said a majority of MPs had voted against the Bill even before its third and final reading, due later this month. BBC News reports that human rights groups and the UN had urged MPs to block the Bill, which was introduced in March after pressure from some Muslim clerics. The Gambia is among the 10 countries with the highest rates of FGM, with 73% of women and girls aged 15 to 49 having undergone the procedure. The draft law, tabled by Almameh Gibba, was rejected after MPs voted against all of its proposed clauses. The 2015 ban introduced fines and jail terms of up to three years for perpetrators, and life sentences if a female died as a result.