Finally girls matter: Why religious leaders are vital in the fight to end FGM

This was a huge step forward for the campaign. In the past few months we’ve witnessed previously unthinkable changes in the approach to FGM in the Gambia. In November the country’s President Jammeh agreed to ban the practice and since then we have been working behind the scenes to make sure that this law is really used to protect the rights and lives of young women from FGM.
My team and I in partnership with Think Young Women and Women’s Bureau with funding from The Morris and Alma Schapiro Fund and The Girl Generation organised the first National Islamic conference in The Gambia.
This event gathered religious leaders from all regions of the country and also with well-known religious scholars from Senegal and Mauritania. In the lead-up to the conference we were faced with a number of hurdles that we had to overcome and even getting some of the religious leaders in the room proved difficult. Ninety per cent of the religious leaders who attended were pro FGM, and this was a steep learning curve for us as we were addressing an audience who we needed to convince to come on side.
It was important for us to provide a space where we could encourage them to engage in the issue and speak their minds so that we could find a way to move forward together