VP Njie-Saidy receives ECOFEPA, others

The vice president and secretary of state for Women’s Affairs, Aja Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy, last Friday, received in her office at State House members of the ECOWAS Female Parliamentarian Association (ECOFEPA), and members of a group called Nyabo Kaafo in Brikama.

The female law makers were at State House to brief Vice President Njie-Saidy on preparation for the pre-launch of their association in the country. They were led to State House by the speaker of the Gambia’s National Assembly, Honourable Fatoumatta Jahumpa-Ceesay.

Speaking to journalists shortly after the meeting, Honourable Victoria Saidu-Kamara, a member of the parliament of Sierra Leone who doubles as the fourth deputy speaker of ECOWAS Parliament, said that during their discussion with Vice President Njie-Saidy, she prevailed on them to work in unison for the betterment and empowerment of the women folk of the sub-region in particular, and Africa in general.

"She also admonished us to understand that there is no way women can go forward without the help of men, and that men should not be excluded in our programmes," Honourable Kamara narrated, and added: "she said that whatever we do we should seek the support of men so that we could move together to better the lives of our people." According to her, the purpose of their visit to The Gambia is to pre-launch ECOFEPA, an association formed within the ECOWAS parliament. "We want to use The Gambia as headquarters for the secretariat of the association, so we came to notify the government of The Gambia and also to ask for the permission of His Excellency the president, Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya AJJ Jammeh, for his approval before we proceed to launch the association," she said.

Kamara went on to say that they got the Gambian leader’s approval during a recent meeting with him. She said President Jammeh asked them to work with officials of the government, so that towards the end of the year, they can launch the association in the country. On reasons for chosing The Gambia, Honourable Kamara said that the country has become an example in the whole of Africa, pointing to the fact that women have been appointed to key positions in government - from the vice president to the speaker of the National Assembly.

"That has impressed us so much on the part of the president, and so we think that the country will serve as an example to the rest of the continent in terms of women’s empowerment,” she said. "Our goal is to promote the issue of women’s empowerment in the sub-region, West Africa and the rest of the continent," she added.

According to the Sierra Leonean parliamentarian, they intend to bring female law makers from all over Africa together, at least once a year, to discuss and share information, to see which programmes work and which do not "so that we can benefit equally." "We now have about thirty women, and the membership can increase at any time, because before becoming a member of the ECOWAS parliament you have to have a seat in your own parliament at home. Some delegations have women while some don’t, so we are trying to make sure that every delegation from the member country has women among them. So in a year or so the number of women will increase in the ECOWAS parliament," she concluded.

VP’s meeting with Brikama Nyabo Kaafo
In separate engagement, Vice President Njie-Saidy also met with a delegation from the Brikama Nyabo Kaafo. They were led to State House by Sainabou Faal, the deputy governor of Western Region.

Speaking at the ceremony, the vice president commended the group for their work, which she said is in line with the teaching of the Islamic faith. She emphasized the importance for one to read and know their religion, stressing that even Allah, the Almighty, has emphasized that if we do not know Him we cannot worship Him properly. She spoke at length on the importance of seeking knowledge about the Creator of the universe.

She however emphasized that since President Jammeh took over the mantle of leadership of this country, he has embarked on so many development projects geared towards the promotion of religion such as the building of mosques, sponsoring people to go on pilgrimage, donating foodstuff, just to name but a few.

"Your work is important because at one point in the past even to wash dead bodies was a problem, because people did not learn it,” she said. “It is said that women are the first school and so we have a big role to play. Islam even requires people to be clean before worshiping Allah and this can only be done if we follow the teaching of the Qur’an and the Hadiths," she added.

Vice President NJie-Saidy went on to commend the group for their voluntary service to the community such as the cleaning of mosques, health facilities, and supporting orphans. "But,’’ she added, ‘‘we have to practice education with something to make gainful living as said by the Qur’an.’’ VP Njie-Saidy concluded by commending the group for their hard work, urging them to ‘‘keep it up." Abdou Kolley, secretary of state for Trade, Industry and Employment, also joined the chorus in urging that women be empowered to enable them to actively participate in development agendas.

According to him, religious teaching is an important aspect of Islam, and adult literacy being an important venture, the involvement of women is a quite a commendable move. He emphasized that the work the association is doing is very important in that it also takes into cognizance the importance of keeping our surrounding clean at all times. He therefore called on the group to liaise with the Department of State for Education.
Abubacarr S Camara, a teacher and member of the association, said their mission to State House was to brief the vice president about the group which he said was established some thirteen years ago in Brikama Nyambai, Western Region.

According to him, since its inception, the association has been rendering valuable services towards promoting education of women and girls in the country.  "We organise classes for women and girls who missed education during their young age, to help them acquire basic knowledge in the practice of the Islamic religion,” he explained. He finally made an appeal for the vice president to assist them with a centre in order to meet the  needs of their growing membership, indicating that the place they are currently occupying is rented.

For her part, Sainabou Faal, deputy governor, Western Region, thanked the vice president for her support of the women in the country. She said that Nyabo Kaafo is highly recognized in the areas where they operate for their relentless efforts in the course of women’s empowerment.

Other speakers included Lamin Ceesay, deputy executive director of Women’s Bureau, Fafading Sanneh of Adult Education, Saffiatou Savage-Sidibeh from Non-Formal Education, and Sutay Makalo, a member of the association, who all expressed similar sentiments.