Lawmakers who had been moving toward repealing Gambia’s landmark ban on female genital cutting overwhelmingly changed course on Monday, voting instead to keep the legislation in place after women staged an intense three-month campaign.

Gambia, a sliver of a country on the west coast of Africa, had grabbed international attention earlier this year as it appeared headed to becoming the world’s first nation to roll back protections against cutting.

“It would have faced pariah status,” said Satang Nabaneh, a Gambian legal scholar focused on sexual and reproductive rights and women’s rights.

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