PATRIRCHY IS FEMICIDE

Africa: Female Genital Mutilation Is On the Rise in Africa - Disturbing New Trends Are Driving Up the NumbersShare

ANALYSISBy Tamsin BradleyTHE CONVERSATION AFRICA (JOHANNESBURG)MAY 12, 2024

Thirteen-year-old Salamatu Jalloh had her whole future to look forward to. But in January 2023, her lifeless body was found wrapped in a pink and blue shroud on an earthen floor in a village in north-west Sierra Leone.

Salamatu and two other girls bled to death after participating in a secret Bondo society initiation into womanhood. The ceremony, which lasts for several weeks, began with a sense of excitement and anticipation - a rare occasion in this rural community to celebrate girls. But at its core was a violent act: the cutting and removal of the girls' external genitalia.

Their tragic deaths were highlighted in the latest Unicef report on female genital mutilation. According to the UN agency 230 million girls and women alive today have survived female genital mutilation, but live with the devastating consequences.

Most procedures happen in African countries, accounting for 144 million cases.

Despite campaigns to end this practice there are 30 million more women and girls globally who have undergone this form of torture than eight years ago.

As an applied social anthropologist who has researched women and violence for many years I've been studying this form of abuse, and the reasons it persists, for over two decades. Some countries are making strides in reducing the practice. In others, advancements have stalled or even been reversed due to changing ideologies as well as the fallout from instability and conflict.

Unicef calculates the rate of decline would need to be 27 times faster to eliminate this abuse by 2030.

Understanding the trends is the starting point for ending female genital mutilation. Some of the new trends are alarming. They include a backlash by conservatives against efforts to stop female genital mutilation; increasing numbers of "secret procedures" which are difficult to keep track of; and shifts towards what are termed "less severe" forms. Increased "medicalisation" of the procedure by health care professionals is another disturbing trend.

Reasons given for FGM

The types of cutting vary. In its most severe form, infibulation, the cut edges of the labia are sewn together to achieve a smoothness considered to be beautiful. The vagina must be reopened for sexual intercourse or childbirth.

Every year, over half a million girls globally undergo this extreme form of vaginal mutilation.

Most of those who support female genital mutilation believe it maintains cleanliness, increases a girl's chances of marriage, protects her virginity and discourages "female promiscuity", thus preserving the family honour. They also believe it improves fertility and prevents stillbirths.Most supporters of the practice do so for religious or cultural reasons.

In fact female genital mutilation has no health benefits, and it harms girls and women in many ways. It carries the risk of immediate complications like shock, haemorrhage, tetanus, sepsis, urine retention, ulceration of the genital region and injury to adjacent genital tissue. Long-term consequences include increased risk of maternal morbidity, recurrent bladder and urinary tract infection, cysts, infertility and adverse psychological and sexual consequences.

FGM in African countries

Countries with the highest levels of female genital mutilation are Somalia (99%), Guinea (95%) and Djibouti (90%).

In Kenya, over the last half century a remarkable transformation has occurred. Female genital mutilation was once widespread, but most of the country has now abandoned the practice.

Yet among the Somali community, concentrated in the north-eastern province of Kenya, there has been little change, and the practice remains nearly universal.

Somalia and Sudan face the challenge of addressing widespread female genital mutilation amid conflict and population growth.

Ethiopia has consistently made progress, but climate shocks, disease and food insecurity make it harder to maintain these successes.

The fragility of progress cannot be overstated.

Conservative backlashes and compliant doctors

There are some alarming trends that make eliminating this practice even more difficult.

• Backlash by conservatives: In The Gambia religious leaders have demanded that legislators revoke a 2015 law banning female genital mutilation. They reacted after three women in the northern village of Bakadagi were found guilty of mutilating eight infant girls in 2023, the first major conviction under the law. The World Health Organization has warned that a repeal in The Gambia could encourage other countries to disregard their duty to protect these rights.
• Secret procedures: In countries where the practice is banned it has often gone underground. Girls are also being cut at a younger age to avoid detection. This makes accurate rates of female genital mutilation harder to capture.
• Shifts towards "less severe" forms: One of these is sunnah, the removal of the clitoris. In countries such as Sudan and Somalia this is considered by many to be unharmful as the vagina is not sewn up. Proponents argue that this does not count as female genital mutilation.
• "Medicalised" procedures, performed by trained people like doctors, nurses and midwives: Some people consider these legitimate as they are thought to be safer. More of these are being performed in public or private clinics, chemists, homes, or elsewhere.
• Destabilisation and eroded rights: Around 4 in 10 girls and women who have undergone female genital mutilation live in countries affected by conflict or fragility. Ethiopia, Nigeria and Sudan account for the largest numbers of girls and women who have undergone female genital mutilation in conflict-affected countries.

Armed conflict and the devastating impact of climate change have led to a sudden deepening of poverty and mass displacement, driving people from their land and livelihoods. Families are plunged into deep poverty and studies have shown that the rights of girls slip away when families are faced with stark choices.

The commodification of girls through marriage practices such as bride price means that when families are stripped of all other resources daughters become an object to be sold. Female genital mutilation, as a marker of a girl's purity, becomes essential.

Progress to eliminate this horrific form of abuse needs to be a lot faster. Understanding the shifting trends is a start.

Tamsin Bradley, Professor of International Development Studies, University of Portsmouth

This article is republished from The Conversation Africa under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Gambia: Bill Threatens Female Genital Mutilation Ban

Reject Proposed Law That Would Reverse Critical Gains for Women’s, Girls’ Rights

Click to expand Image
Protesters against female genital mutilation (FGM) demonstrate outside the National Assembly in Banjul, Gambia, on March 18, 2024.

 © 2024 Muhamadou Bittaye/AFP via Getty Images

(Abuja) – A bill before Gambia’s National Assembly to reverse a groundbreaking 2015 ban on female genital mutilation (FGM) jeopardizes the rights of women and girls in the country, Human Rights Watch said today.

Gambia is among the 10 countries with the highest levels of FGM. In addition to the 2015 ban, which made all acts of FGM a criminal offense, the Gambian government adopted a national strategy and policy for 2022–2026 to end the practice in the country by 2030. If the National Assembly adopts the Women’s (Amendment) Bill 2024 at its June session, Gambia would become the first country to overturn a FGM ban.

“The Gambian government’s consideration of a bill reversing the ban on FGM is deeply troubling for women’s rights,” said Mausi Segun, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “The proposed law would legitimize FGM in the country and could encourage similar measures elsewhere on the continent, undermining the progress made in protecting girls and women from this harmful practice.”

Female genital mutilation refers to “all procedures involving partial or total removal of the female external genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons,” according to the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF). It has lasting physical, psychological, and emotional consequences. It is also a serious public health issue and can lead to complications during childbirth, including maternal and infant mortality.

FGM violates girls’ and women’s rights to health, security and physical integrity, rights to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, rights to life, and rights to sexual and reproductive health.

The UN reported that over 230 million girls and women worldwide have survived FGM and live with its lasting effects. UNICEF found that approximately 73 percent of girls and women in Gambia ages 15 to 49 years reported surviving FGM, with more than 80 percent of those ages 10 to 19 having been cut before age 5. More than 20 percent of them were infibulated, meaning the genital area is cut and sown shut.

Traditional practitioners, many of them women, perform most cases of FGM in Gambia, leading to deaths in some cases as well as short-term and long-term morbidity in many more instances. While medicalization of FGM or reinfibulation, meaning the genital area is cut back open after previously being sown shut, performed by any category of healthcare provider, might slightly mitigate immediate complications, FGM is never “safe.” Girls and women face a high risk of health consequences immediately and later in life. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there is no medical justification for the practice.

The 2019-2020 Gambia Demographic and Health Survey data showed a slight decrease in FGM, 73 percent of girls and women ages 15 to 49 having survived FGM compared with 75 percent in 2013. The survey also reflected a shift in the attitudes and behaviors of many practicing communities. However, over the last 30 years, the percentage of girls and women ages 10 to 19 who reported experiencing FGM has not changed significantly.

Most communities in Gambia use religion or tradition to justify the practice. However, there is no requirement in Sharia (Islamic law) for FGM, or female circumcision, nor is it a part of the Sunna (Prophetic traditions) or considered an honorable act. It contradicts the prophetic hadith, Muhammad’s words, “Do not harm yourself or others.” The common definition that circumcision is the cutting or removal of “extra skin” is not applicable because there is no unnecessary part of a female’s external genitalia that could be useless or harmful.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights defines harmful practices as “practices which constitute a denial of the dignity and/or the integrity of an individual, result in physical, psychological, economic and social harm and/or violence and limit women’s and girl’s capacity to participate fully in society.” It says that such practices, including those based on tradition, custom, or religion, are a violation of human rights.

FGM is addressed in a number of international conventions and regional agreements and is prohibited by national legislation in many countries. The international community and UN member countries have committed to eliminating all harmful practices, including FGM, by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goal on gender equality. With Gambia’s current FGM trends, reversing the ban would inevitably maintain and possibly increase its high levels of FGM, endangering the lives and well-being of Gambian girls and women now and in the future.

The Gambian government should prioritize the protection of girls’ and women’s rights and adopt all measures to eliminate this harmful practice by 2030, Human Rights Watch said. The government should heed calls from civil society organizations and African and UN human rights bodies to discourage legislative efforts to lift the ban.

It should urgently invest in comprehensive education and awareness-raising programs to promote understanding of the harmful effects of FGM, encourage community-led efforts to end the practice, strengthen enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance, and provide survivor-responsive medical, legal, and psychosocial support. International donors should immediately coordinate with national and local efforts to advocate for upholding the FGM ban.

“The Gambian government should fiercely protect the rights of Gambian girls and women and reject any proposal to reverse or weaken the 2015 FGM ban,” Segun said. “The government should take concrete steps to end the harmful practice of FGM once and for all.”

AFRIKAN FEMICIDE & TORTURE 

Gambia may allow female genital mutilation again, another sign of a global trend eroding women's rights

by Satang Nabaneh, The Conversation

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

The Gambia's ban on female genital mutilation (FGM) since 2015 is under threat. Proposed changes before parliament could permit medicalized female genital cutting and allow it for consenting adults.

This potential reversal has thrust the country into the global spotlight as the latest example of the backlash against gender equality.

The Gambia's criminalization of FGM was not the first in west Africa but it came as a surprise. The president at the time, Yahya Jammeh, declared the rampant cultural tradition a non-religious practice that caused harm. There was some dissent within the country but human rights groups welcomed the ban.

Jammeh, who was president from 1994 to 2016, also oversaw the passage of other progressive gender-related laws. The Domestic Violence Act 2013 provided a framework for combating domestic violence in all its forms (physical, sexual, emotional, economic) and protection in particular for women and children. The Sexual Offenses Act 2013 expanded the definition of rape, broadened the circumstances in which individuals could be charged, and reduced the burden of proof in prosecutions.

Jammeh also outlawed child marriages in 2016. This was significant in country where 1 in 5 young people aged 15–19 (19%) are married.

In one of the world's most aid-dependent countries, these reforms were all central to international donor interests. And they helped to improve the country's democratic reputation. But at the same time, they made it easy for the autocratic leader to get away with other excesses. He also mobilized religion to manipulate beliefs and sentiments, particularly affecting girls and women. For example, Jammeh mandated that female government workers wear veils or headscarves when he declared his Muslim majority country an Islamic state in 2016.

President Adama Barrow, Jammeh's successor, has emphasized religious tolerance and has refrained from employing religious symbolism. Unlike the state-sponsored homophobia under the Jammeh regime, Barrow has downplayed homosexuality as a "non-issue."

I am a legal scholar and human rights practitioner with published research on female genital mutilation, gender equality and women's rights and governance in The Gambia. It's my view that Jammeh's ostensible compliance with gender equality norms was selective and intended for the international gallery rather than a genuine commitment to women's rights and democracy.

His tactical stance highlighted a broader trend. Autocratic African leaders often accommodate global gender norms to maintain domestic power dynamics. The result, for example, is increased women's political participation through quotas along with a conservative approach to sexual and reproductive health and rights.

The Gambia experience also shows that western donors and multilateral institutions need to go beyond just pushing for reforms. Once they have got the reforms they advocated for, they should have a strategy for sustaining them. Forces that were opposed to the reform often regroup to campaign for its removal.

At its core, female genital mutilation constitutes a violation of the human rights of girls and women. These include the right to non-discrimination, to protection from physical and mental violence, and to health and life.

From a feminist perspective, the prevalence of FGM in numerous African nations revolves around upholding gender-specific norms and exerting control over women's sexuality.

Female genital mutilation in The Gambia

Female genital cutting is a deeply ingrained practice. It is driven by cultural beliefs and often performed by traditional healers. According to the most recent national survey, a large majority of Gambian women aged 15–49 years (73%) have undergone female genital cutting. More alarming is an 8% increase in the prevalence of FGM among girls under the age of 14—from 42.4% in 2010 to 50.6% in 2018.

Numerous health risks associated with all types of the practice have been documented by the World Health Organization and systematic reviews. These include severe pain, bleeding, infections and complications during childbirth and elevated rates of anxiety and other mental health disorders. This has led to calls for the practice to be banned in order to protect girls' health and well-being.

The Gambia's current struggle with the FGM ban reflects a complex interplay between cultural norms, religious beliefs, and the fight for gender equality. The potential repeal of the ban poses a threat to human rights of women and girls in The Gambia.

Reversal of hard-won gains

Though The Gambia is constitutionally secular, religion influences nearly every facet of society. Islamic fundamentalists in the country are known for attacks on religious minorities, including hate speech against the Ahmadiyya Muslim community and the Christian community.

The main fundamentalist religious actors draw inspiration from and still support the exiled former dictator Jammeh. They are at the forefront of the recent pushback against the anti-FGM law. They argue that the ban violates their religious and cultural freedoms as guaranteed in the 1997 constitution.

On 4 March 2024 a strong supporter of Jammeh proposed a private member's bill in the National Assembly that seeks to overturn the ban.

The push to reassert traditional gender roles isn't isolated to The Gambia. There is a global trend of rolling back progress on gender equality. This trend is characterized by attempts to limit women's bodily choices, an increase in violence against them, as well as attacks on LGBTQI+ communities. It reflects a broader political climate of backlash against women's rights and gender equality as a weapon in the reversal of democratic achievements.

Attempts have been seen to reverse legal protections against women and girls in Kenya. In Sudan, state-sanctioned violence and societal pressure is aimed at restricting women's public participation. Similarly, Tanzania previously enacted a policy barring teenage mothers from attending public schools, though this policy has been reversed.

This global context highlights how anti-rights movements, undemocratic norms and gendered politics are working together to erode women's rights and exacerbate inequalities.

Provided by The Conversation 

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

UNICEF: 230 million females are circumcised globally, 30 million more than in 2016

FEMICIDE

Gambia postpones vote to repeal FGM ban

Kate Hairsine | Sertan Sanderson

DW

Women's rights remain under threat in Gambia after parliament decided to postpone a vote on upholding the ban on female genital mutilation (FGM).

Dozens of women picketed parliament to stop the ban on femal genital mulitation being reversed

Hadim Thomas-Safe Hands for Girls/AP/picture alliance

Female genital mutilation (FGM) remains illegal in Gambia — for now. A decision in Gambia's National Assembly on whether to overturn the ban on FGM has been postponed for at least three months.

The divisive issue led MPs to ask for more consultation on the matter, referring the bill to a parliamentary committee which will examine it for at least three months. The bill will then be returned to parliament.

According to the AFP news agency, hundreds of people were seen protested outside parliament on Monday, with most supporting a repeal of the ban on FGM.

The tiny West African nation had explicitly criminalized FGM, also called cutting or female circumcision, in 2015, making the practise punishable with up to three years in prison or a fine of 50,000 dalasi ($736 or €678), or both.

In cases where FGM causes death, the law calls for life imprisonment.

FGM involves the partial or total removal of the female external genitalia, often involving the removal of the clitoris or labia. It has no health benefits and is proven to harm girls and women in many ways.

The private bill to scrap the law outlawing FGM, which was proposed by individual members of parliament, argues that the current prohibition violates citizens' rights to practice their culture and religion.

Renewed debate around criminalizing FGM

The debate around FGM in Gambia flared up in mid-2023 after three women were convicted of the practise under the law. They were ordered to pay a fine of 15,000 dalasi or serve a year in jail for carrying out female genital mutilation on eight infant girls, aged between four months and one year. However, an imam paid the fines for all three women,

These were the first convictions under the law. Prior to this, only two people had been arrested and one case brought to court, according to UNICEF, and no convictions or sanctions had been handed down.

This is despite nearly three out of four girls and women, or 73%, having undergone female genital mutilation in Gambia, according to official figures.

Parliamentary reporter Arret Jatta told DW that she wasn't surprised that the pro-FGM bill has come before parliament, given the heated discussions in recent months:

"Almost all the National Assembly members are in support of the law being repealed, especially the female National Assembly members," she said.

Different interpretations of Islam

Most of the small African country's population are Muslim, and many believe that FGM is a requirement of Islam. The Gambia Supreme Islamic Council issued a fatwa (religious decree) last year, declaring FGM "one of the virtues of Islam."

However, Isatou Touray, former vice president and founder of the anti-FGM organization GAMCOTRAP, strongly refutes this interpretation.

"Who has the right to interfere in what Allah had created, and who has the right to define how a woman should look?" Touray told Gambian media organization Kerr Fatou.

Supporters of FGM meanwhile believe it can "purify" and protect girls during adolescence and before marriage.

"When it comes to the social aspect, they'll even tell you, 'Oh, it is to ensure that you stay a virgin because if you have the clitoris then … you would want to have sex,'" woman's rights advocate Esther Brown said in an interview on DW's AfricaLink radio program earlier in March.

Human rights violation

The practice of FGM is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women, finds the World Health Organization.

As well as severe bleeding, FGM can cause a variety of severe health problems, including infections, scarring, pain, menstruation problems, recurrent urinary tract infections, infertility and complications in childbirth.

One study on the health consequences of FGM in Gambia found women who were cut are four times more likely to suffer complications during delivery, and the newborn is four times more likely to have health complications if the mother has undergone FGM. 

Africa's slow progress toward zero tolerance against FGM    01:35

But for Fatima Jarju, an FGM survivor who sensitizes women in Gambia to the harms of the procedure, the ongoing debate on the issue is causing further damage to women's rights:

"I think it's a big setback ... looking at our human rights standards as a country and also the commitment from the government to protecting the rights of women and girls of this country," she told DW.

Legislation not always effective against FGM

The Gambia is among 28 sub-Saharan nations where FGM is practiced. Six of these nations lack a national laws criminalizing the procedure (see map below). The Gambia could soon join them.

Many anti-FGM activists stress, however, that legislation alone is insufficient to tackle FGM, especially when it lacks enforcement, as is the case in Gambia.

Rugiatu Turay in Sierra Leone, one of the six African nations without a law against FGM, has gained international recognition for her work combating FGM.

The strategies she uses include the development of rites of passage for girls that don't involve cutting, finding alternative livelihoods for the cutters and intense community engagement.

She isn't convinced that legislation is the best way to tackle the issue.

"Generally, in Africa, people make laws to satisfy their donor partners. But when it comes to implementation, they are not implemented," she told DW.

To change cultural attitudes, she says, more community-based initiatives are needed that involve everyone from regional chiefs, local headmen and religious leaders to the cutters and the mothers making decisions for their daughters.

"If every sector in our country speaks about the cut and the scar — and its consequences — I tell you, we will end FGM," she said.

Anti-FGM campaigners march to end the practice in Sierra LeoneI

mage: Saidu Bah/AFP

Sankulleh Janko in Banjul, Eddy Micah Jr. and George Okach contributed to this article.

This article was first published on March 7, 2024 and was updated on March 19, 2024 to reflect the postponement of a vote to repeal the FGM ban.

Edited by: Rob Mudge

Amid threats by powerful religious leaders, Gambian MP's have 'moral obligation' to maintain FGM ban

Issued on: 19/03/2024 - 

Video by: Nadia MASSIH

Lawmakers in Gambia are debating on a repeal of the 2015 ban on the widely condemned practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Gambian activists fear a repeal would overturn years of work in the largely Muslim country to better protect women and girls as young as 5 years old. It can cause childbirth complications and have deadly consequences, yet it remains a widespread practice in parts of Africa. As Gambia lawmakers consider a repeal of the ban, under heavy pressure from powerful religious leaders, FRANCE 24's Nadia Massih is joined by renowned Gambian activist Jaha Dukureh, Regional UN Women Ambassador for Africa and CEO / Founder of the NGO “Safe Hands for Girls” providing support to African women and girls who are survivors of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

05:07

 

Gambian parliament debates bill to reverse ban on female genital mutilation

Issued on: 19/03/2024 - 

UK

Anti-Fascist Group Takes on London Conservative Mayoral Hopeful Susan Hall, Branding Contender a ‘Racist’

Hall previously liked a string of tweets praising ‘rivers of blood’ MP Enoch Powell and branding the capital “Londonistan” under Muslim mayor Sadiq Khan.

Josiah Mortimer

7 February 2024

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A leading anti-fascist organisation has launched a campaign to “take on” Conservative mayoral candidate Susan Hall AM at the London mayoral election this May. 

HOPE not hate kicked off their on-the-ground activism against the Sadiq Khan-opponent on Wednesday by leafleting at stations around London, accusing the Conservative mayoral hopeful of racism, in no small part due to her controversial statements on social media.

A spokesperson for HOPE not hate said the group has “exposed her racist social media history”. That includes the Harrow-based politician having liked a tweet saying ‘It’s never too late to get London Back!’. The picture was an image of the late Conservative MP Enoch Powell with the quote “It’s never too late to save your country”. This was not a quote from ‘rivers of blood’ speech-giver Powell but a slogan that was once on the British National Party website.

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She has also previously liked a tweet from a user suggesting Enoch Powell should have been Prime Minister, saying they’d like Enoch Powell to be an addition to a pack of Prime Minister playing cards. 

Other examples pointed to by the group include quote-tweeting  an article from “notorious right-wing misinformation site” The Gateway Pundit, alleging a conspiracy to steal the 2020 US presidential election from Trump. 

And she replied to a tweet from far-right commentator Katie Hopkins calling Sadiq Khan “our nipple height mayor of Londonistan” with an endorsement, saying: “Thank you Katie!”. “Londonistan” is the term used to convey the idea that Muslims are taking over London.

Hall also liked a reply to a tweet about Sadiq Khan’s anti-violence against women and girls strategy that said “Well said Susan, that Labour Traitor RAT Likes that sort of thing” – being female genital mutilation and violence against women and girls. This is racially charged implying that Muslims support FGM and violence.

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Wherever there is voter suppression, misinformation, or dodgy funds, we’ll be here to call it out. Across Britain, months ahead of polling day, the work is about to begin.

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Challenged about her social media activity on LBC last September – in particular the Enoch Powell meme and Katie Hopkins tweets – Hall told the LBC Radio phone-in she “can’t remember” doing so, adding: “I tweet, or I used to, all the time.” 

“When I retweeted, oh no I think I liked it. I don’t know, this was a long time ago. That wasn’t in my mind, and I’m glad you given me the opportunity to say…” 

Interviewer Nick Ferrari interjected: “I think you did, you retweeted it.” Hall replied: “I retweeted? I have no idea.” 

She denied she was a supporter of the former Conservative provocoteur Enoch Powell, adding: “If you’re a serial tweeter, you tend to go through liking all sorts of things, and you sometimes read things and don’t see. If anybody is offended, then obviously, I would apologise.” 

In October 2023, Hall was urged to apologise after that claiming Jewish communities in London were “frightened” by Sadiq Khan. The London Assembly member made the comments at a Conservative Friends of Israel at the Conservative party conference in Manchester.

Prior to selection the Conservative Assembly member liked a tweet saying that Sadiq Khan is “begging for Londoners to do a Tower Hamlets postal vote for May next year and we all know how that works. #fraud” – effectively accusing Sadiq Khan of electoral corruption and promoting the idea that Muslims in electoral politics subvert democratic principles.

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And she has liked tweets targeting journalists, including on branding Sky’s Matthew Thompson, then at LBC, a “virus”. 

Georgie Laming, Director of Campaigns at HOPE not hate said: “Susan Hall is clearly not fit to represent a diverse and multicultural city like London.

“Her social media activity is some of the most egregious we’ve seen from a Conservative candidate, and that’s why we’ll be taking her on this election.”

At the end of last year the campaign group polled over 1,000 Londoners and found that 64% believed Susan Hall’s social media conduct was “racist”. The group says it will be using “some of the most advanced voter analysis available” to identify areas in each constituency that might be most receptive to hard-right politics, and to target them with anti-Hall material. 

Susan Hall’s team was contacted for comment.