Gov’t commitment to women’s rights reinforced

Madam Zineb Yahya Jammeh, the first lady of the republic of The Gambia, has buttressed the government’s continued commitment to the cause and advancement of women’s rights, which she said, is manifested in the strategies, programmes and policies of the government.

In a statement read on her behalf by Marie Saine-Firdaus, the attorney general and secretary of state for Justice, during the opening of the Pan-African’s Women’s Day celebration, on Thursday, at the Paradise Suites Hotel, Madam Jammeh indicated that though a lot has been achieved, the government will continue to pursue more responsive policies, programmes and strategies to ensure that women’s rights are effectively

protected and promoted across the length and breadth of the country. In this regard, she noted that the contribution of non-state actors cannot be over-emphasised.

According to the first lady, the government is implementing a National Policy for the Advancement of Women and Girls 1999 - 2009, noting that the process of drafting a gender policy has already began.

Gender issues, she indicated, are mainstreamed in other government policies, programmes and projects, which she said are all geared towards ensuring the attainment of gender equality and women’s empowerment.

In the area of legislation, Madam Jammeh noted that the 1997 Constitution has entrenched clauses that provide for the rights of women as equal partners in national development, adding that the same Constitution also provides equal opportunities for women in education, health and socio-economic activities.

“The Gambia has also ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), as well as the African Union Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa,” she said, adding that a Women’s Bill has been drafted for enactment this year, in line with the CEDAW and the protocol.

Women leadership
On women and leadership, the first lady, said this another area that The Gambia, under the Jammeh administration, prides itself on. She noted that women have been given the opportunity to participate in decision-making, both at the village, district, regional, national and international levels.

“Similarly, the number of women holding decision-making positions in the Executive, Legislature, and the Judiciary have increased. However, at the regional level, women are not serving in key positions apart from being members of committees and the few that find themselves in such positions are challenged with having the skills and knowledge to represent the interest of other women,” Madam Jammeh said, urging women to continually sharpen their knowledge so as to better qualify to represent other women.

Commending the Women’s Bureau and the AU Commission on Human and People’s Rights for organising the event, Madam Zineb Jammeh observed that the celebration is aimed at popularising and raising awareness on Pan-African Women’s Day in the country, which she said, is a day when the first ever African women’s organisation known as the Pan-African Women’s Organisation (pano) was established on 31 July, 1974.

Madam Yahya Jammeh concluded by reaffirming The Gambia government’s support for the cause of women’s rights and hailed the AU Commission on Human and People’s Rights, for its continued commitment and collaboration with the government and civil society organisations in the country.

Other speakers at the occasion included Maitre Soyata Maiga, the special rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa, and Hon Abdoulie Bojang, the deputy Speaker of the National Assembly.