Health,Gender and Development: Effects of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) In The Gambia (Jarra Karantaba Community)

Topic: Health, Gender, and Development: Effect of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Gambia (Jarra Karantaba Community) Abstract This paper touches on the consequences of Female Genital Mutilation on health, gender, and development in a particular community in Gambia called Jarra Karantaba. Jarra is in the lower region and the sixth district of the area. This is a community that is well known for its practice of FGM throughout the country. This paper tells us what FGM is and why it is mainly practised by this community, the social injustice, gender inequality, and health issues that women face because of FGM. It helps us to have an excellent level of awareness of the core issues and socio-cultural dimensions of the practice: the social networks and the interventions they implemented to fight FGM in the Jarra community. Moreover, FGM is a global concern; it has now gone beyond traditional lines to international projects and programs that center on raising women’s awareness of FGM and occasionally their financial conditions, because this has an impact on their behavior towards FGM. For women’s attitude towards FGM to be changed, they need reinforcement from power holders such as men, health professionals, religious scholars and lawmakers. It is essential to develop projects that are focused on the abandonment of FGM, but this is not enough; for it to be effective, it needs to include financial projects or programs that include sexual reproduction health and rights, education, motherhood and more comprehensive programs on rural development and poverty reduction.