The
empowerment of women has been subject of reflections in National blue prints Government after Government in The
Gambia as it relates to the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs), CSW, CEDAW, etc. and so forth. The question is, are women and particularly
those in Africa really making a
difference especially geared towards these articulations and policy
actions to ensure their actual
empowerment?
First
of all, it must be stated that women are not only an integral part of
society but they constitute the
productive base and therefore their empowerment is in the best interests of our nations. The MDGs
did not reflect adequately on
agriculture. And this is why in the nations of the world particularly in
Africa where there is endemic poverty,
hunger and disease, Governments found it
difficult to cope with the recent food crisis. It is logical therefore
to state that there is no better
strategy to alleviating poverty than moving agriculture in a rapid and substantial manner on the continent
of Africa. It is equally logical that
development must act directly on the agriculture sector itself. And in
Africa, women are either the answer to
agriculture or a key to food security. This is
where we believe women can be making a difference especially geared
towards the MDGs. The UN and the
International donor community should consider
increasing assistance to women in agriculture and work with
national Governments on
programmes/projects that will ensure the empowerment of women through food self-sufficiency and
security.
Apart
from agriculture, women in most African countries have shown the lead in honesty in the management of public funds, in
the dispensation of justice in courts of
law, in small scale business enterprises, family care, professional training, health care, and advocacy, and in
other income generating activities and
even to some extent in the political spectrum. It could therefore be
safely concluded that women are
contributing immensely to the socio-economic
development of our nations.
Most
people would argue that women have been empowered through appointments to high offices in the public service,
election to political seats and serving
in high positions in recognized international bodies and so forth. But empowerment of women means much more than
this elitist breed of women. It means
the uplifting of women from poverty to prosperity; it means putting an end to the discrimination of women to providing
equal opportunity to them; it means the
enslavement of women in marriage must be ended and women’s liberation under the law assented to by national
Governments to safeguard and to protect
their interests in marital affairs; it means greasing the backs of women
through program interventions to become
producers and providers of feed for the families and society and to be able to be of greater
asset to men and it means creating
wealth for the advancement of women across the board through micro
credit schemes, skills development,
entrepreneurship, market outlets, and health care schemes. The total liberation of women must
become the cornerstone of Action.
In
empowerment, it is not a question of challenges to men. We are saying that we are one world. We are one people. Women
must learn to live together with men as
partners or we all perish in shame. It will be fatal for our nations to overlook the urgency of women empowerment
especially in this era of global
economic and social hardship.
We
have therefore heard all the advocacies to remind the world of the fierce urgency of addressing the concerns of women.
Now is the time to make real the much
talked about empowerment of women. Now is the time for the fulfilment of promises of equal opportunity and gender
balance for all of the women in the world.
There
are those who may be asking the question: “when will women be satisfied?” They can never be satisfied as
long as women are largely confined to
poverty and underdevelopment. We want to see the transition of women
from pain to pleasure. It is not only
decision making power but economic power as
well for women especially those in rural communities.
There
is the need for a number of programmes to be initiated and funded to improve the status of women and these
include:
1.
Micro credit schemes to enable more women access funding for income generating activities.
2.
Training possibilities for women to be knowledgeable in doing business and entrepreneurship, etc.
3.
Establishment of women’s agricultural farms on a wide scale with technical and financial support from the FAO,
NGOs and Agriculture Ministry.
4.
Establishment of Women’s Enterprise Fund to assist women involved in business, trade, commerce, saloon ventures,
import/export to enhance their earnings.
5.
National Governments to make available to local banks money for women empowerment projects and businesses.
Government
can consider setting up a National Trading Company under the management of women business leaders with big
capital provision to engage in food
commodities, agribusiness, fisheries and other activities. Such a company should be mandated to have outlets in all the
regions of the country. Preferential treatment in terms of foreign exchange
requirements for the imports of the
company should become a deliberate policy by the Central Bank in
empowering Gambian women. It is time for
the Gambian market to be owned and dominated
by Gambians and for all goods to be within the reach of average
citizens.
Women
are the best conduit for this transformation. A National Bakery service with fully equipped machines and facilities
to be managed by serious, honest and
dedicated women entrepreneurs could counter the prevailing dominance of the market by foreigners calling themselves
Gambians. There are experienced rural
women in agriculture and rice production in particular. Government in the context of food security drive, should set up
a National Women’s Agriculture Farm to
be operated and managed by women rice farmers. The Municipal and Area Councils should move to build markets
dedicated to women to support their
trading activities in all regional centres. Empowerment of women does not necessarily mean appointing elitist women to
positions in government and parliament
but bringing sustainable livelihood to poor women in society, particularly in the rural areas.
Some
of these suggested strategies or interventions can have significant impact on women in development.
