Bakary K. Badjie, national assembly member for Foni Bintang, has denounced the Barrow government’s commitment to uphold the ban on female circumcision.

Last week, President Barrow vowed to keep the ban on female circumcision as he delivered his state of the nation address (SoNA).

But during debate on the president’s SoNA by lawmakers, Bakary K. Badjie said: “the president (Adama Barrow) also made it clear that he stands firm to fight against FGM. More than the commitment of the president is our commitment to preserve our culture, our traditions, our beliefs and our values. And in this National Assembly, we will continue to represent the interests of the Gambian people, not the interests of the West, and that should be known to all.

“In doing so, we don’t in fact require support from anybody. We want to uphold our beliefs, our values and our traditions. And that female circumcision, we are committed to practising it today, tomorrow and forever,” he said.

The MP went on to asked: “what is wrong with practising what we believe in? We ask you to practice what you want to practice, and we practice what we want to practice, and you say no to that? What kind of democracy is that?  

“We will see the end of it. We will stand on our ground without begging for relationships or support. If that will be the reason we will be sanctioned, let us be sanctioned as a nation. We are ready for it. Statistics have shown that when a nation is sanctioned, that is the time that nation progresses. We are ready for that progress. And we are committed to that progress,” he added.

Reporting by Adama Makasuba