I write to wish my fellow Gambian women residing in the country and outside of the country a happy International Women’s Day. Today is a day that calls for celebration and reflection on the struggles of women in The Gambia. As women, we have little to take pride in with the daily struggles we continue to endanger in this country. Women empowerment is politically rewarded which is a system that fails to support women development inclusively.
Today, women’s voices continue to go down in the political landscape most especially in political office. At the National Assembly the percentage of women has seriously gone down with less than 15% of representatives when the President failed to nominate women out of his 5 nominations with few constituencies that were won by women at Parliament.
This is a setback to our country, as our voices would have been very matter to influence decisions that will shape the future of this country. Today, we continue to sit in our homes as the majority when men continue to decide our future for us.
At cabinet, the gender disparity is getting wider as women appointed by the President as ministers is far away from meeting even 25%. This is heartbreaking when we are the greatest partners to any politicians vying for office.
We need a serious discussion on women development because we are no longer back benchers or substitutions but we are game starters and this must be matched by actions and not words anymore.
We have a greater number of women who are very competent and can serve with distinction in any capacity and we are more corrupt free compared to our counterpart.
When we empowered women, we empowered the country and with the continuity of such leadership at the helm of affairs there will be no meaningful changes in women’s plight.
Across the world, women are leading, rebuilding communities, and driving innovation but sadly in The Gambia, we are not given the equal opportunities to realize our full potential. Today, it should have been a celebration for us as women but it is a day that is marked by unemployment, unrecognized efforts.
Women’s strength, courage and leadership must be honured while advocating for parity in decision-making discrimination.
Women often have limited access to a fair credit or loan as most of the loans attracted by women continue to put them in a very terrible state due to high interest. Results indicate that the killing of women during robberies is an ongoing issue, with numerous recent incidents reported across various locations in The Gambia. These incidents often involve fatal deaths, but also other forms of violence.
Let us protect, empower and be more inclusive for the development of The Gambia and the world.