Banjul, The Gambia – On a rainy morning in early August, a newborn girl suffering severe vaginal wounds was rushed to Banjul’s Bundung Maternal and Child Health Hospital. By the time she was attended to, the doctors could do nothing – the baby had bled to death.

The Gambian authorities have since confirmed that the one-month-old died from injuries linked to female genital mutilation (FGM), a banned practice in the small West African country.

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The case sent shockwaves through the small community of Wellingara, some 17 kilometres (10 miles) from the capital, Banjul, where the baby’s family is from. At least three women from the area were arrested over the death, including the person who cut the child, as well as the baby’s mother.

“She is the unlucky one,” a neighbour said, referring to the infant, her voice heavy with grief. She and the victim’s mother belong to the same osusu, a traditional savings scheme, and the neighbour was present at the baby’s naming ceremony, which traditionally takes place a week after birth. It was the last time she saw the infant, she said.

“This is not the first time,” the neighbour, who did not want to be identified due to the sensitivity of the case, added. “Babies are cut in secret around here, some only a few days old. It is heartbreaking, but it keeps happening because no one speaks out.”

FGM, which involves fully or partially cutting the female labia and clitoris, often at a young age and for non-medical reasons, has been criminalised in the country for a decade, yet it remains a common cultural practice. Aside from the risk of death, complications such as bleeding, infections, vaginal pain, infertility, and post-traumatic stress disorder are linked to FGM. More than 144 million women are subjected to FGM across Africa, according to the United Nations agency for children, UNICEF.

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The recent case lays bare the dangers of the ritual and challenges authorities face in clamping down on the practice, with this incident marking a rare instance of legal action in The Gambia.

Police authorities have launched an investigation into the child’s death. Although the baby’s mother has been released on bail, she could face a fine as a suspected accomplice under The Gambia’s 2015 anti-FGM law, while the woman who cut the newborn could face life imprisonment.

FGM goes underground

FGM is prevalent throughout much of Africa, but The Gambia is one of the most affected countries. At least three in every four Gambian women have undergone ritual cutting, according to UNICEF.

Many mistakenly believe that the practice discourages sexual wantonness in girls, thereby preserving virginity until marriage. Some misconceptions also include that cutting heightens male sexual pleasure and that it is a religious rite.

In 2015, The Gambia banned the controversial practice, years after activists began pressuring Banjul. Those convicted of cutting, according to the law, can face a three-year jail term or a fine, and, in the case of death, a life sentence. However, many have opposed the law, including some lawmakers and religious leaders in the Muslim majority nation, who call it an affront to cultural and religious rights.

In early 2024, one lawmaker proposed a bill to reverse the anti-FGM law. His calls caused widespread outrage from activists and rights groups who said years of advocacy work would be wasted. The Gambia’s top religious body backed the repeal, though, and called FGM “one of the virtues of Islam”.

Parliament ended up voting against the bill, but pro-FGM advocates have since challenged the decision at the Supreme Court. The top court’s decision is pending.

Most girls are subjected to cutting between infancy and adolescence. Increasingly, though, it seems the 2015 ban has pushed those intent on continuing the practice to focus on cutting children earlier, as one-month-old infants, experts say.

Fatou Baldeh, one of The Gambia’s leading advocates against FGM, told Al Jazeera that her nonprofit, Women in Liberation and Leadership (WILL), began receiving increasing reports about three years ago of families cutting babies as young as a week old.

“They believe younger infants heal more quickly,” Baldeh said. “With the law in place and fear of prosecution, many also see this as a way to hide the practice and avoid detection,” as healed cuts could be easier to disguise, she added.

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Baldeh herself is among the thousands of the Gambian women who have survived FGM. The advocate said she continues to live with its emotional scars. Her organisation, WILL, aims to eradicate harmful traditional practices like FGM through community education and by reporting cases to authorities. Accurate statistics on FGM are difficult to obtain, she said, especially for infants, because the practice is often done in secrecy and is rarely reported as a crime since the law was passed.

“This is exactly why we continue to remind communities that FGM is never safe, no matter the age or the setting,” Baldeh added, referring to the recent death of the baby. “This baby girl was robbed of her life before she even had a chance to live. Her death is not just a tragedy but a reflection of a society that continues to tolerate, excuse, or remain silent about FGM,” she said.

Mothers on guard

Those who have survived the pain of FGM say it is hard to forget, and that its consequences are lifelong.

Naffie, a mother of three, told Al Jazeera that all her childbirths were traumatic and agonising, and that she often endures intense vaginal pain as a result of the FGM she was subjected to as a four-year-old. “I have to live with these scars and this pain for the rest of my life,” said the 35-year-old.

Naffie chose to use only her first name because speaking publicly about FGM experiences in The Gambia often brings stigma.

Many mothers are determined for their daughters to not endure the same traumatic experience that they did and are rejecting pressure from family members.

However, girls are also at risk of being cut by extended family, without the consent of their parents. In many Gambian households, families live in extended compounds, and children are often considered the responsibility of the wider family, not just their parents. That sometimes leads grandparents, aunts, or other relatives to feel they have the authority to make decisions about a child, including subjecting girls to FGM.

Some mothers say they are constantly on edge, wary of leaving their daughters in the care of family members. One of them is Sarjo Tamba, a single mother who pledged at childbirth to shield her daughter from FGM. While on a business trip last year, however, her partner’s mother oversaw the cutting of her five-year-old daughter. Sarjo only discovered the violation when she returned home, about two weeks after it happened.

“One day while bathing her I noticed something unusual on her private part,” the 34-year-old recounted. “That was when I realised she had been cut.”

Shocked and heartbroken, Sarjo confronted her partner’s mother, who confessed. The incident, Sarjo said, has left her with deep pain and distrust. Although she reported the case to the police, nothing has been done, she said, as officers told her they could not intervene in a family matter.

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Barriers to prosecution

The Gambian authorities have been accused by rights groups of failing to properly prosecute FGM cases and enforce the 2015 ban. By 2024, only two cases were prosecuted in the 10 years since the law was passed.

Of those, convictions and sentences have been handed down in only one case. That was back in August 2023, when three women in the eastern Gambian town of Bakadaji were fined 15,000 Gambian dalasi ($210) for cutting three girls and preparing to cut another five. All the girls were between four and 12 months old.

Since these were the first convictions under the law, the case proved controversial as many influential figures were against the sentencing. A prominent imam, Abdoulie Fatty, paid off the accused people’s fines and began vocally calling for the practice to be legalised.

Modou Musa Sisawo, a spokesman for The Gambia’s police, blamed the secrecy surrounding FGM and said it was a barrier to finding and prosecuting cases.

“Because FGM is carried out in secrecy, the police usually only become aware of it when complications arise, as tragically happened with this baby, or in cases of disputes among parents,” Sisawo said. “In most instances, if there are no visible complications or conflicts, the police remain completely unaware.”

One mother told Al Jazeera it is particularly difficult to report relatives to the police when they are responsible for the cutting because of fear that family members might retaliate. That adds yet another layer of fear and silence surrounding the practice.

As the trial of the three accused women in the latest case is set to begin, all eyes are also on the Supreme Court, which is yet to rule on the future of the FGM ban. Rights groups and officials, meanwhile, say they will continue to create awareness on the dangers of FGM to prevent more tragedies.

Abdoulie Ceesay, parliament representative for Wellingara constituency, where the recent tragedy occurred, said he was shocked to hear about the baby’s death. Ceesay said despite resistance from some religious scholars, his office continues to approach local women leaders for their support in warning communities about the dangers of FGM.

“The issue is sensitive,” Ceesay admitted. Some in the country, he said, believe advocates are engaged in a money-making scheme because of the international backing anti-FGM causes receive. That misconception especially makes the task harder, he added.

Despite that, the lawmaker said the work goes on. “We continue to engage willing leaders to spread the message,” he said.