The women listened stoically as members of parliament — the vast majority of them men — pounded their desks in support as Almameh Gibba, the lawmaker who introduced the bill, described it as intended to “uphold religious rights and safeguard cultural norms and values.”

The ban on cutting, he said, represents a “direct violation of citizens’ rights to practice their culture.”

If Gambia moves forward, activists said they fear that the decision — which the United Nations says would mark a global first — could lead other nations to follow suit. The meeting Monday, in which 42 of 47 members of the National Assembly voted to move the bill forward, means that months of national dialogue — and potentially amendments to the bill — could ensue before a final vote on whether to revoke the ban.

Already, about 75 percent of girls and women in Gambia between the ages of 14 and 49 have been subject to genital cutting, according to the United Nations. Globally, more than 200 million women and girls are estimated to be survivors of female genital cutting, which can involve removing part of the clitoris and labia minora and, in the most extreme cases, a sealing of the vagina. Medical experts say the procedures — which do not have medical benefits — come with a range of short- and long-term harm, including infections, severe pain, scarring, infertility and loss of pleasure.

“It is a rollback on women’s rights and bodily autonomy,” said Jaha Dukureh, a Gambian activist whose little sister died as a result of a botched procedure when she was a baby. “It is a rollback in terms of telling women what to do with their own bodies. This is all this is.”

This round of debate was set off when three women who were practicing female genital cutting were caught, and one of Gambia’s most prominent imams, Abdoulie Fatty, paid their fines and launched the campaign to revoke the ban, saying that it was a practice taught by the prophet Muhammad. The U.S. government estimates that more than 96 percent of Gambia’s 2.4 million people are Muslim.

There has been debate about the practice in Islam, but many Islamic leaders have condemned it, and it is not widespread in many majority Muslim countries.

Although the ban has generally been poorly enforced, activists say, revoking it would erode years of efforts by medical professionals, educators and others in encouraging communities to stop the practice.