The Gambia
Former iron-fisted leader Yahya Jammeh banned FGM in the Gambia and set steep fines and up to life imprisonment for those taking part in the ancient ritual.
A month after his promise to end the practice which brought about lifelong health complications, the country’s parliament passed a bill criminalizing FGM in 2015.
Before the bans, about 75 percent of girls in the Gambia were cut and 30 percent married before the age of 18, UNICEF said.
But one year after Gambia’s iron-fisted leader Yahya Jammeh flew into exile, residents of the tiny West African nation are reportedly facing a resurgence in FGM as the new president, Adama Barrow, who ousted Jammeh seems to have given them some freedom. The president is yet to come clear on the reports.
