(Thursday August 25th, 2016 Issue)
As
we approach the 2016 presidential election, it is important to remind ourselves
as citizens when it comes to the rights we have to vote for a candidate of our
choice.
We
all know that every citizen in The Gambia, who is 18 years old and above, is
eligible to vote. We also know for a fact that our vote or going out to vote as
citizens of this country is a right and not a privilege, and that is why every
citizen must take pride in voting.
In
doing so, both men and women also have the right to vote and be voted for. That
being the case, a woman’s decision to go out and vote for the candidate of her
choice should not be influenced by her husband, uncle, father, brother or any
other relative of hers.
Women
should be allowed to vote for their choice independently, and that is not a
privilege but a constitutional right.
As
a man, you may be that loving husband, who wields so much power and influence,
but that should not make you to compel your wife into voting for someone who
does not happen to be her choice.
True,
you are the husband, you paid her bride price, brought her to your house,
shelters, feed and clothes her; but you should remember that letting her to
vote independently without interference from you, is also part of the rights
and responsibilities you should be exercising as her husband.
Letting
your wife to select and belong to a party of her choice, and to vote
independently, means that you are empowering her to make her own decision and
as well helping her to exercise her constitutional rights as a citizen.
Every
day, we are talking about empowering women, and sometimes men are seen at the
forefront of these campaigns; but are we just going to stop at lip service, and
when it comes to implementation we deviate from practicing what we preach?
Empowering
women during elections is very important, and letting them participate to their
satisfaction without any interference is what every man of the 21st century
should do.
As
a man, who said your wife should belong to a particular party just because you
are a strong militant of that party? Why should your wife put on the colours of
a particular party that you belong to? Why should a woman belong to a
particular party, because that party belongs to her ethic group? Why should a
woman vote for you because her husband is working for you?
Women
are human beings, and not toys to be played with in a political game. Let us
not silence women just because we are more powerful than them or because they
are answerable to us; and we know that they will do whatever we tell them to
do.
We
are never going to develop as a society, when women are treated as second-class
citizens. Their rights to freedom of assembly and association should be
respected, and enforced to the letter.
To
make informed choices as to who we want to vote for has to do with attending
rallies and listening to various candidates, to prove their points and convince
us as to why we should come out and vote for them.
However,
it is rather unfortunate that some men do not allow their women to attend the
rallies, or listen to the political parties they belong to by attending their
meetings.
Some
men will just attend their meetings, and when they return home that is the time
they will be explaining to their women about a particular party’s motives and
then asked them to vote for that party.
If
that continues we are not helping the electoral process!
Women
are naturally respectful of their elders and, as such, our fathers also play a
vital role in asking their daughters to vote for a particular party or even
threaten to disown them if they do not do so.
As
a woman, there is no need for you to openly disobey your father, because The
Gambia has a secret ballot system; and people should do away with the notion
that there are cameras set up in the polling booths, that will show people that
you voted for a particular party.
Women
should know that their vote is their voice, and when it is allowed to be taken
away from them it will render them redundant.
So
obey your father during the conversation, but when you are alone with the
ballot box, you have the right to make a choice.
Women
should also know that it is important for them to vote independently, without
being influenced by anyone, because they alone know what they want in the
coming five years.
Maybe
they will want a law which will punish any man who prevents a woman from using
contraceptives, good markets to sell their garden produce, good drainage
systems, a high number of women representatives in the National Assembly, or
food processing factories etc.
However,
remember that it is only your vote that can give you whatever it is that you
want.
Elections
come in every five years, and it is the only powerful means for a citizen of a
country to voice out what is in him or her, and he or she will be heard through
casting his or her vote.
As
a woman, your vote is your right and voice; so do not let anyone to harass,
threaten, bribe or intimidate you to take away your right and voice from you.
Your
vote is what empowers you to be heard; so used it wisely so that at the end of
the day you will get what you deserve.
As
a father, husband, and uncle please let your wife or daughter exercise her
constitutional rights independently.
Let her use her vote as her voice and be
heard, because letting her vote for a candidate of her choice carries a huge
weight, and can benefit you all.
