Sierra Leone: ECOWAS judgment condemns female genital mutilation

Translated by Beatrice Mereta

For decades, international human rights organizations have fought to criminalize female genital mutilation (FGM), especially in Sierra Leone, where it remains deeply rooted in cultural tradition.

Also known as “cutting,” FGM involves removing all or part of the external genitalia for non-medical reasons. It is often performed without anesthesia by untrained individuals using knives, scissors, scalpels, glass shards, or razors.

All forms of FGM remove and harm healthy tissue, disrupting the body’s biological functions. Survivors may suffer chronic pain, hemorrhage, shock, increased HIV risk, anxiety, depression, urinary difficulty, infections, complications during labour, post-traumatic stress disorder, and, in extreme cases, death.

Sierra Leone is among the African countries with the highest FGM prevalence. A 2019 demographic health survey found that 83 % of women aged 15–49 had undergone the procedure—a decline from about 90 % several years earlier. Many were between the ages of 10 and 14.

Change was partly driven by the deaths of three girls in January 2024—Kadiatu Bangura (17), Salamatu Jalloh (13), and Adamsay Sesay (12)—who died as a result of FGM during initiation ceremonies. Two years earlier, 21-year-old Maseray Sei had similarly died from acute hemorrhage and shock following the procedure.

The absence of specific legislation criminalizing FGM in Sierra Leone, coupled with government inaction, continues to implicitly legitimize these tragedies and puts thousands more at risk.

Although the UN passed a resolution banning the practice in 2012, UNICEF estimates that over 230 million girls and women worldwide have undergone FGM across the 31 countries where it is practiced. More than 4 million girls remain at risk annually, most under 15 years old.

FGM is recognized internationally as a severe violation of human and women’s rights, a form of gender discrimination, and a breach of children’s rights. It violates principles of equality, non-discrimination, health, safety, physical integrity, dignity, and freedom from torture or degrading treatment, as well as the right to life when fatal.

Why Does It Persist?

In some societies, FGM is seen as a rite of passage to adulthood, but it primarily serves to suppress girls’ sexuality or enforce chastity, often with religious justification. It is sometimes regarded as a prerequisite for marriage, motivating parents to subject daughters to it for fear of rendering them ineligible for marriage otherwise.

Exactly one year earlier, in July 2024, Sierra Leone banned child marriage. However, true liberation of women also requires ending FGM, as both stem from patriarchal oppression.

The country—which has one of the highest child marriage rates globally (approximately 800,000 child brides), along with high maternal mortality and adolescent pregnancy—made history when the President signed the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2024. This law prescribes up to 15 years in prison for offenders and ensures survivors’ access to justice and compensation. However, the law fails to take action to eradicate FGM.

A historic advancement occurred on 8 July 2025, when the ECOWAS Court of Justice ordered Sierra Leone to criminalise female genital mutilation after hearing the case of a woman who was brutally forced to undergo the practice. The case refers to Kadijatu Balaima Allieu, who was a victim in 2016 and then found the strength to turn to the authorities.

The Court described FGM as “one of the worst forms of violence against women.”

This ruling comes at a time of intense focus on the issue, following the election on 21 June of Julius Maada Bio, former president of the country, as president of ECOWAS.

Widespread hope was dampened by a press release on 7 July in which the Parliament of Sierra Leone stated that the law does not contain any provision imposing a fine, penalty or punishment specifically targeting FGM.

The bill is now pending presidential assent and it is said that this decision will determine whether he will be remembered as the greatest pro-human rights president of all time or not.

The Republic of Sierra Leone is a member of the African Union (AU) Commission, which is committed to ending FGM and calls for the “eradication of all forms of gender-based violence... including female genital mutilation.”

The initiative aims to achieve zero female genital mutilation by 2030 across Africa, one of the sustainable goals set by the entire global community.

The hope is that the country will follow the example of Kenya, Cameroon and Tanzania, ban FGM and implement strict measures to hold those who practise this horrific crime accountable.

UNICEF, which works with governments at national and regional levels, jointly leads with UNFPA the world’s largest programme to end FGM, launched in 2008 with the aim of raising awareness about the harm caused by FGM.

Achieving change requires coordinated and systematic efforts at the international level, involving entire communities and focusing on the protection of human rights and gender equality.

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