Last year, Gambia’s parliament considered a bill that would have repealed the country’s ban on female genital mutilation (FGM). Widely recognized as a human-rights violation, FGM has been illegal in Gambia since 2015, but experts say the practice still occurs because the ban is poorly enforced. When the bill to overturn the ban came before parliament, Fatou Baldeh, the founder of the organization Women in Liberation & Leadership, sprang into action. Baldeh, herself an FGM survivor, launched a campaign with other advocates to block the bill. Ultimately, the bill failed in July 2024—thanks, in large part, to the advocates’ collective efforts.
It was a victory for Gambia, but also the world at large, Baldeh says. She had feared that overturning the ban in Gambia would have a ripple effect, potentially leading to other countries backsliding on outlawing FGM. “It’s been a difficult year, I have to admit, but it’s also opened up the space ... for more conversations around the issue,” Baldeh says. “I think what happened in the Gambia has really awakened people [to] the need to do more about this.”
Lee is a TIME reporter