Lawmakers in the West African nation of Gambia have rejected a bill that would have overturned a ban on female genital cutting. The attempt to become the first country in the world to reverse such a ban had been closely followed by activists abroad. The vote followed months of heated debate in the largely Muslim nation of less than 3 million people. The procedure, also called female genital mutilation, includes the partial or full removal of girls’ external genitalia. The practice is often performed on girls younger than 5 and is rooted in the concepts of sexual purity and control.
