Gambian rights activist Isatou Touray has dedicated her life to ridding her country of female genital mutilation (FGM). In return she has received death threats, been imprisoned and suffered repeated harassment.
But Touray has good news. This year, the tiny West African country is finally set to pass a law banning the brutal ritual, which causes horrific pain and long-term health and psychological problems.
Around 78 percent of women and girls in Gambia are thought to have undergone FGM, which is practised by seven ethnic groups in the predominantly Muslim country.
But attitudes are changing so fast that Touray ? Gambia’s most high-profile campaigner against FGM ? is optimistic she could see genital mutilation wiped out in her lifetime.
“By 2020 we should be able to have an FGM-free country in The Gambia,” she said.