First,
She-She-she begins by congratulating President-elect Barrow for a historic
victory against the incumbent, in the December 1 presidential election.
Everyone
contributed to the victory of the coalition and, in particular, women of The
Gambia.
During
the campaign, women have played a vital role in mobilising their fellow women,
sensitizing them on holding on to their voter’s card firmly and not to sell it
to any individual.
Women
belonging to different political parties stood by the coalition and ensure
their victory in various ways.
Perhaps
most important was the emergence of a female presidential candidate, this time,
who was the only female in a coalition of 8 political leaders, that emerged
victorious at the end of the day.
During
the official campaign period, every melodious song, good dancing and loud claps
belong to women, as well as every delicious ‘benachin’, ‘yassa’, ‘mbahal’,
‘futoo’, ‘durango’, and the list could go on, was cooked by women.
Now
that the campaign is over, the election is over and a winner president-elect
Barrow is chosen, “how should we as a nation and a new government, come January
2017, define the role of the women of our dear country?”
Yes,
we are women, the mothers, sisters, cousins, daughters, aunts and wives to
everyone, including the president-elect.
But
in his new government to be, we should be more than destiny shapers of
presidents both past, current and the future; rather, we should be running this
Government side-by-side with the men.
The
first thing that I want to remind the president-elect is for him to know that
‘women’s rights are human rights’ and, that being the case, it is not and
should not be negotiable at any cost.
The president-elect should not have a
government in place that defines Gambian women as clapping, singing, cooking
and dancing beings, that will only be put in the picture when it comes to
celebrating the achievement of men; rather they should be at the forefront of
every development agenda.
We
want and deserve a government that will have a 50/50 representation of both men
and women side-by-side.
Women
of The Gambia should be accorded equal opportunities with men in Barrow’s
Government, in terms of access and opportunities for genuine participation and
leadership roles in the economy, society and political decision-making
processes.
At
the National Assembly, where laws are made, which affect all persons living in
is country, including the women, they must not only be Nominated Members, but
must be given a chance to be elected to the parliament.
What
we are asking is not a new thing because The Gambia is known for claiming to
empower women, and to promote and protect their rights; so we do not only want
to see this proclamation as a lip service, but as something that is seen to be
done in the new dispensation.
Women
should be seen as an asset in the quest for national development, as a woman
will think of the welfare of others when making decisions, as is seen in taking
care of a family, a kingdom and a nation.
When
we talked about women being at the National
Assembly, we do not mean just any nominated woman who does not know the reason
why the parliament was constituted in the first place, but we mean there are
women who are well learned and deserved to be at the assembly to rub shoulders
with men in enacting laws for the country.
So
our call is to elect women, and promote 50/50 representation at the National
Assembly.
We
all know for a fact that women’s sexual reproductive health and rights issues
are a problem in this country, when it comes to addressing them, due to
resistance from men.
So
we are saying charity begins at home. If Barrow and his government are friendly
towards promoting and protecting the sexual reproductive health and rights of
women, then we will see greater male involvement when it comes to building
healthier families and promoting healthier relationships at the grassroots
level and across all sectors of development.
Remember,
women’s rights are human rights, and the women should not be taken for granted!
Tackling
the maternal mortality rate, especially in the rural areas should be a top most
priority of Barrow’s government in respect of the right to life and safe
motherhood.
We
know for a fact that the remote areas of this country need good roads, but also
the women in these areas need quality, well-equipped, functional and
sustainable health centers that could provide their health care needs.
That
is why it is important that the Barrow Government engages women at the rural
level in terms of their needs, before imposing any development measures on
them.
Accessibility,
affordability, availability and quality services delivery in the health sector,
and in terms of promoting Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights should be the
main consideration.
Under
Barrow’s Government, we do not want any woman to die while giving birth due to
complications that can be managed and prevented.
Under
Barrow’s Government, we want every child born in The Gambia to have his or her
needs met, and family planning is the answer to that.
Under
Barrow’s Government, we want safe abortion to be legalised in terms of unwanted
pregnancy due to rape, incest and other medical threats to the mother’s life.
Under
Barrow’s Government, we want proper investigation and prosecution of rape cases
against women, girls and even babies, and all other sexual offences against
women, because the perpetrators of such violence are heartless and deserve no
mercy.
It
is a known fact that all rape cases are thrown away when the issue of DNA test
arises; so we want Barrow’s Government to create a special fund that will
facilitate any DNA test to secure a conviction in rape cases.
Under
Barrow’s Government, we want a special correction centre built for women that
will preserve their dignity and protect them from abuse and torture, while in
prison serving their sentence or awaiting trial.
Under
Barrow’s Government, we do not want women to be defined as the back benchers,
but seen at the forefront of development issues across the country in all
sectors.
Under
Barrow’s Government, if a man can be a minister, so can a woman be a minister.
Under
Barrow’s Government, if a man is selected Minister in a certain ministry, a
woman should equally be appointed a permanent secretary for the
gender-sensitive running of that ministry.
Under
Barrow’s Government, if Barrow can be president a woman can be vice president
or minister for presidential affairs or Secretary General and head of the civil
service.
As a female journalists making our way up the
ladder and capable of writing better stories than our male counterparts, under
Barrow’s Government we want a female minister of Information or permanent
secretary, that will address the issue of harassment and intimidation that
female journalist receive in their various working environments, because it is
only a woman we can open up to, and who can hear us out and feel the pain and
hardship we go through in discharging our duties.
Under
Barrow’s Government, women access to own farm land must be promoted vigorously.
We hope our mothers in the villages will be given rights to their own farmland
and given rights to own tractors and other farm implements to work on their
farmland, so that they will also start enjoying like the men farmers are
enjoying now.
We
called on President-elect Barrow and his Government to promote enforcement of
the Women’s Act 2010, Sexual Offences Act 2013, Domestic Violence Bill 2013,
Children’s Amendment Act 2016, Women’s Amendment Act 2016, as well as the
international instruments that promote and protect the rights of women, girls
and children such as CEDAW, the Maputo protocol, Banjul Charter, CRC,
Children’s Act 2005, among others.
We
congratulate, once again, the president-elect, and hope and pray that his
Government will give Gambian women, who form more than half the population, a
befitting role in keeping with respect for human rights and social justice;
including the need to facilitate their effective participation in the
development of our dear motherland.
