Gambia parliament rejects bill to end ban on female genital mutilation

Gambia’s parliament on Monday rejected a bill that would have ended a ban on female genital mutilation, after lawmakers voted down all the clauses in the proposed law.

“The ban on FGM is still firmly maintained in the Gambia,” the Ministry of Information said in a statement after the vote. “Government stands firm in its resolve to eliminate this harmful practice.”

The bill to overturn the ban sparked a public debate about female genital mutilation for the first time in the West African nation that divided villages...