Mali FGM Legal Status Campaign: Online Push Defends Practice

• An online campaign supporting female genital mutilation (FGM) emerged in Mali in August, reframing the practice as a means to protect girls.
• FGM remains legal in Mali, despite historical efforts by activists and the 2024 Penal Code's general condemnation of violence.
• A 2023 study linked FGM to approximately 44,000 excess deaths annually across 15 African countries, including Mali.
• Mali has one of the highest global FGM rates, with 89% of women aged 15-49 having undergone the procedure.
• Proponents often justify FGM as a religious obligation or tradition, while framing opposition as a foreign agenda, despite Mali's long history of internal resistance.

In essence, it denies half the population autonomy over their own bodies in the name of national sovereignty.

An organized online campaign emerged in Mali this August, actively defending female genital mutilation (FGM) and reframing the practice as a necessary measure for safeguarding girls. This coordinated social media effort, which quickly gained traction, reignited contentious societal discussions not only about women's fundamental bodily integrity but also about deeply ingrained traditions and the concept of national sovereignty. The campaign surfaced mere days after a national non-governmental organization had displayed posters in Bamako, the capital, explicitly condemning FGM.

Anonymous online accounts subsequently began disseminating images that directly countered the "no more" message promoted by anti-FGM advocates. These visuals typically depicted men from various backgrounds smiling or giving a thumbs-up gesture, often surrounded by Mali's national colors, accompanied by the slogan: "In Mali, yes to excision! Let's protect girls and build their future." This particular phrasing starkly inverted the common argument for protection, applying it instead to justify a practice that involves the cutting out of parts of young girls' genitals, frequently without anesthesia and carrying significant risks of deadly complications, in a country where FGM remains widespread. The Mali FGM legal status campaign has thus brought these deeply conflicting narratives to the forefront.

Despite the severe health risks and widespread condemnation from human rights organizations, female genital mutilation continues to be legal in Mali, a critical factor that allows such pro-FGM campaigns to operate openly. The absence of a specific prohibition in national law represents a significant legal gap that has profoundly impacted Malian women and girls for decades. Early efforts to challenge this status date back to Mali's independence in 1960, when pioneering midwife and lawmaker Aoua Kéita, alongside other activists, championed reforms to advance women's rights. Their advocacy led to the inclusion of a ban on forced marriage and the establishment of a minimum age for matrimony within the 1962 Marriage Code.

However, these early reformers were unsuccessful in their attempts to secure a legal prohibition on both FGM, often referred to as excision, and polygamy. Subsequent legislative endeavors also faced formidable opposition. Powerful conservative factions successfully thwarted draft laws aimed at advancing women's rights within the household in 2009, and again defeated proposed legislation addressing violence against women in 2019. More recently, while Mali's 2024 Penal Code comprehensively condemns violence in general terms, it notably refrains from specifically naming or outlawing female genital mutilation, leaving the practice in a legally ambiguous and permissible state. This persistent legal void has had devastating consequences for the female population.

The human toll of FGM in Mali is staggering, making the ongoing debate about its legal status particularly urgent. A 2023 study estimated that FGM contributes to approximately 44,000 excess deaths annually across 15 African nations, including Mali, positioning it as a leading cause of mortality for girls and young women in regions where it is practiced. For those who survive the procedure, the consequences are immediate and severe, encompassing intense pain, significant bleeding, infection, and profound emotional shock. The long-term impacts are equally dire, manifesting as chronic pain, urinary and menstrual complications, an elevated risk of difficult childbirth, and enduring psychological trauma throughout their lives.

Mali's latest Demographic and Health Survey underscores the pervasive nature of FGM, revealing that 89% of women aged 15 to 49 have undergone the procedure, placing Mali among the countries with the highest global rates. While the prevalence among girls aged 0 to 14, the typical age range for cutting, stands at 70%, a slight decrease from 74% in 2018, this modest decline suggests a slow recession that remains potentially reversible. A significant portion of the Malian population, both men and women, continues to endorse FGM, often citing it as a religious obligation or a cherished tradition. These justifications, though widely disputed, contribute to a lack of societal consensus that endangers thousands of infant girls each year. Proponents of FGM frequently downplay its physical harms, instead presenting it as essential for controlling female sexuality, a long-standing element of patriarchal control. Furthermore, societal norms prevalent in many southern and central regions of Mali have historically glorified suffering as a mark of honor for women, effectively normalizing their pain. The perceived stigma of immorality that communities might attach to an uncut woman is often presented as a greater harm from which she supposedly needs protection.

The "yes" campaigners also strategically attempt to frame opposition to FGM as an imposition of foreign ideals. This narrative deliberately overlooks Mali's rich history of internal resistance to the practice, from figures like Aoua Kéita to contemporary human rights defenders. However, this framing resonates powerfully with broader national sovereignty narratives, which often recast women's rights as an external import and traditional gender norms as an intrinsic societal strength. This logic, unfortunately, merely substitutes one form of domination for another, allowing men, families, and communities to exert control over women's bodies and inflict harm on girls too young to consent, all under the guise of resisting imperialism. In essence, it denies half the population autonomy over their own bodies in the name of national sovereignty. The precise individuals or groups orchestrating this pro-FGM campaign remain difficult to identify.

Source: Original reporting via external news coverage.