Scared of the safety of thousands of young girls in The Gambia, Awa K. Njie has taken her fight against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) to social media.
On Wednesday, 10th June, she took to Facebook to share a childhood photo in which she and her cousins are photographed sitting on a mat after passing through the rite of passage.
In a lengthy statement that accompanied the photo, Awa said: “As a young girl who has gone through this inhuman practice and being a Survivor of FGM, I will speak out and my voice will be heard. I will speak out without being afraid to be judged by people or society.”
She added: “Whether you know it or not FGM still exists and people are still doing it on their daughters. Why do we have to cut our girls just in the name of culture?”
Awa’s Facebook post came less than 24 hours after Standard Newspaper reported that up to one hundred young girls will be cut this summer in Lamin, West Coast Region.
Now based in Germany, the former Red Cross volunteer was very young when she underwent circumcision. Unlike many FGM survivors, she is not scared of speaking out.
Awa was recently invited at an anti-FGM conference in Dortmund to share her story. According to her, FGM is painful and unhealthy, and leaves girls traumatised and deeply scarred.
Why is FGM still common in The Gambia?
According to GAMCOTRAP, an organization that is famous for its fight to eradicate the practice, girls are victims of the state not providing legal protection by prohibition of FGM.
“Advocates can engage to sensitize and raise awareness but it is the duty of the state to provide a safe environment for the girls. They are innocent and vulnerable. It is the business of all to protect the girls.”