Introducing Gambian Women are Free to Choose!

As the founder of Gambian Women are Free to Choose, I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself and the reason for creating GWAFC in the first place.  But let me start by saying how super excited I am about the level of interest and support for Gambian Women are Free to Choose (GWAFC) and for all those who applaud our advocacy for the fundamental human rights of Gambian women to uphold gender inclusive Islamic circumcision.  Yes, I said it! GWAFC exists to ensure the constitutional rights of Gambian women to gender equality, cultural identity and religious expression!! 

My name is Dr. Fuambai Sia Nyoko Ahmadu - most people just call me Sia. I created GWAFC in 2016, years before the current efforts by our brave National Assembly Members to repeal the Female Circumcision Prohibition in the Women's Act of 2010.  Our position is clear: GWAFC opposes the terminology Female Genital Mutilation or FGM and rejects all FGM propaganda, which demean and dehumanize circumcised women. 

I was born in the U.S. to Sierra Leonean immigrants and was raised both in Freetown and the Washington, D.C. area. I received a PhD in Social Anthropology from the London School of Economics and was awarded a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the University of Chicago. I received further post-doctoral training and research development experience at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the U.S. 

​I did all of my fieldwork for my PhD in The Gambia - mostly in Brikama.  Also, while doing my fieldwork in The Gambia, I worked for five years as a lead consultant with Unicef and was the youngest ever Principal Investigator at the Medical Research Council or MRC. At the MRC, I led The Gambia team in a five country study, called WESTAF, examining some of the problems that prevent tuberculosis patients from seeking or completing treatment.

​But as an anthropologist my main focus and passion has been female circumcision and initiation.  I am a very proud circumcised woman and member of the female owned and managed Bondo Society in my country of heritage, Sierra Leone.  I am also a practicing Christian with very strong ties to Muslim family, friends, and communities.  My desire has been to understand what female and male circumcision mean within our traditional African cultures where these practices originated and within the Abrahamic religions that adopted and adapted these traditions.

​My PhD thesis was published as a book in 2016, entitled, “Male and Female Circumcision among the Mandinka of The Gambia: Understanding the Dynamics of Traditional Dual-Sex Systems in a Contemporary West African Society.”  I am working on an updated edition of this book, given all the political transformations in The Gambia since the first publication.

On a side note, for those who have enquired about my personal connection to The Gambia -  my late husband was Rtd. Major Ebrima Cambi (aka "Captain Cambi").  Captain Cambi served not just The Gambia but all of West Africa as a dedicated soldier and senior officer in ECOMOG during the Liberian Civil War that later spilled over to Sierra Leone.  My late husband also served the UN in several capacities, notably under the UNAMSIL peacekeeping force in Sierra Leone after the war.

Me and Husby, "Captain Cambi" at Yundum Airport circa 1999

Additionally, I am the proud step-mother of our four Gambian children still residing in our compound in Brikama.  Among my many other "children" is my amazing namesake, Fuambai Jallow, a law student at Cyprus International University who helps out as my Executive Assistant at GWAFC.

​Since 2016 when GWAFC started operating on the ground in The Gambia, I have been fortunate to work with Gambian lawyers, journalists and community organizers, including heads of women’s kafos in Brikama and beyond. Our activities were put on hold during the Covid crisis. Because of the legal prohibition against female circumcision and potential for harassment by FGM activists, I made the decision to protect the identities of all my field workers and will continue to do so until the unconstitutional ban against female circumcision is finally lifted.

Fuambai, my toma, is the bold exception!  She is the administrative and go-to face of our counter-campaign in The Gambia and is supported by a fantastic team of Brikama kafo women.  She is part of a dynamite group of women leading the way, expanding our grassroots advocacy and activism throughout the rest of the country!!

Fuambai Jallow, Executive Assistant, GWAFC

Thanks again to our growing number of supporters. We can change the narrative about female circumcision in this generation, take back control of our own identity, and shape our own destiny!

Sia   

I am that anthropologist.  I'm passionate about advocating for the bodily autonomy and human rights of grassroots African and Muslim women.