Gambiaj.com – (BANJUL, The Gambia) – A post-mortem examination has confirmed that a one-month-old baby girl in Wellingara, The Gambia, died from severe blood loss caused by female genital mutilation (FGM), the government has officially announced.
The autopsy, carried out on 11 August 2025 at the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, found that the infant suffered “external haemorrhage” — severe blood loss — caused by deep lacerations to her external genitalia.
The injuries, inflicted during the cutting, were so severe that her tiny body could not survive the shock.
The procedure took place at a residence in Welingara on 8 August. The following afternoon, the baby was rushed to Bundung Maternal and Child Hospital, but by the time she arrived at 3:34 p.m., she was already lifeless.
Police have arrested three individuals linked to the case. They have been charged under the Women (Amendment) Act 2015, which outlaws FGM in The Gambia, and have appeared before the courts.
In a statement on Thursday, the government called the death “tragic and entirely preventable,” vowing to enforce the anti-FGM law “without exception” and prosecute anyone involved in performing, facilitating, or allowing the practice.
Authorities urged community leaders, religious figures, and citizens to reject the centuries-old practice, protect children, and report any suspected FGM activities before it is too late.
FGM has been banned in The Gambia since 2015, but rights groups warn that it remains a hidden threat in some communities — one that can claim lives in a matter of minutes, as this case has shown.
The African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) have sent a joint letter appealing to President Adama Barrow over the death of the baby girl.
The letter, dated 14 August 2025, was signed by senior officials from both continental human rights bodies, including Hon. Wilson Almeida Adão, Chairperson of ACERWC, and Hon. Janet Ramatoulie Sallah-Njie, Vice-Chairperson of ACHPR.
It urges The Gambia to uphold its obligations under African and international human rights instruments to protect girls from harmful practices.
