Gambian mothers fear for their daughters as court weighs FGM ban

As The Gambia's Supreme Court prepares to rule on the country's ban on female genital mutilation (FGM), survivors like Mariama Jabbie (28) and Binta Jawo (30) fear their daughters will endure the same trauma. Mariama, who was cut at age six, lives in constant fear that her six- and nine-year-old daughters will be taken without her knowledge, especially after a three-month-old baby died from a clandestine FGM procedure near Wellingara. The Supreme Court's ruling, expected Wednesday, will decide whether the law continues to protect girls or leaves them vulnerable to the practice.