Dr Isatou Touray, CEO of GAMCOTRAP, and Mai Fatty, Human Rights Lawyer and Leader of Gambia Moral Congress
By Buba Gagigo
Dr. Isatou Touray, former Vice President and CEO of GAMCOTRAP, has raised concerns about Mai Fatty’s credentials following his recent endorsement of Female Genital Mutilation/Circumcision (FGM/C).
Fatty, leader of Gambia Moral Congress and a human rights lawyer, drew criticism for his stance on an amendment seeking to repeal the Women’s Act 2015, which will decriminalize FGM.
Expressing disappointment in Fatty’s advocacy, Dr. Touray emphasized the role of education in shaping societal progress, questioning how someone with Fatty’s background could support such harmful practices. She cast doubt on his qualifications and expressed her disillusionment with his position, questioning his suitability for leadership.
“The sad thing about it is that I don’t want to say we are all ignorant, but I think educated people have a key role in shaping this country’s move forward, and it’s our divine duty and responsibility. This is about hatred for women. Can you imagine a lawyer (Mai Fatty) coming out to say we should not interfere in the culture and tradition of people?
“He made a very disappointing statement as a lawyer. It doesn’t matter Whether it is mutilation or pinching. Who has the right to interfere in what Allah had created, and who has the right to define how a woman should look? He has attended a lot of programs, he is a human rights lawyer. He knows and he ought to know. I don’t know how he got his degree. I don’t know whether he was a full lawyer or not, but I am disappointed at Mai Fatty,” she told Kerr Fatou on Tuesday.
Dr. Touray also dismissed Fatty’s potential political gains from his stance, asserting that public awareness efforts have led to significant abandonment of FGM practices in communities across Gambia. She challenged Fatty’s understanding of women’s rights and his leadership credentials, suggesting that his stance on FGM renders him unfit for national leadership.
“If he wants to use that as a political gain for the women who he thinks are ignorant out there, let him try it. They (the woman) engaged in it, and we have now created awareness. It was a call by the women and men and the chiefs and every cluster in the Gambia that has done the dropping of the knife ceremony,” she said.
In addition, Dr. Touray highlighted the achievements of her organization, citing the abandonment of FGM by numerous circumcisers and communities, and reiterated her challenge to Fatty to reconsider his position in light of Quranic teachings regarding women’s rights.
“We have one thousand and fifty-six communities out of one thousand eight hundred and something plus communities in the Gambia who have come together to make that public deceleration. For Mai Fatty to stand and say that this should continue? he thinks when he says that people will vote for him. We believe they will not. And I don’t think he’s fit to lead the country. He’s not fit to lead the country. He hates women. He hates women’s rights. I challenge him to go and read the Quran and come and tell me the chapter I will close my organization,” she said.