When
the news of women and children arrested at Kanfenda in Foni struck me, the
question that came to mind was - must women suffer under President Barrow and
the Coalition Government’s leadership?
Balancing
the gender gap was what the coalition government said when they selected a
female to the position of a vice president and, since then, we thought that it
will not stop there; but that in every development agenda they set forward,
women and issues concerning them will be mentioned directly and not to hide
them behind an agenda that is general to all.
We
also hope that any harassment towards women will not be tolerated, regardless
of their political affiliation.
The
gender gap was, indeed, balanced with two females in the cabinet for now. Is
that qualified as balancing the gender gap?
Women
play a very important role in the development of any country around the globe,
and The Gambia is not an exception.
Women
are the coalition and the coalition is women, because without them there would
not have been a unified body that will stand up to challenge the incumbent, and
won.
When
the President was just a president-elect, one member of his media team, who is
a woman herself, told me that she does not think that the women’s issue is so
important that the President can grant an interview on that. The question that
came to mind then was - Is the women’s issue not a national issue?
What
can be more important than talking about one’s plans for the women of this
great country of ours? These are women who prioritize voting over their
kitchens, laundry, gardening, selling things to survive, and leaving their
children behind just to go and cast their votes; so that the change that we as
a nation are enjoying today came to be realized.
Why
are they suffering before they even get the chance to enjoy what they helped
put together?
What
will the coalition campaign trail look like without the participation of the
women who rallied behind them, cooked, clapped, sang and danced for them?
These
are the very women who toured the length and breadth of this country with the
coalition, leaving their families behind, just to effect change.
These
are people, citizens of this country, who are our mothers, sisters, aunties,
daughters, nieces, wives and our best friends that fought hard to change the
mindset of the young, old and loved ones to help bring about change.
So
if that change is here today, is it too much for them to know the plans of the
Coalition Government towards their welfare, growth, and issues affecting their
lives and livelihood?
Why
are you arresting them just because they have a misunderstanding among
themselves? They voted for change so that arresting them whilst they are
pregnant or nursing their children will be a thing of the past!
How
can we as a nation eschew vengeance when our cabinet ministers cannot forget
and forgive? Why is our security arresting nursing mothers, pregnant women and
children?
They
are women of this country; not well off, but they use the little they have to
buy ‘ashobee’, put it on and stormed the Independence
Stadium in a manner that was never seen before.
I
don’t think it is too much for their issues to be part of the national issues
of development for the Coalition Government.
The
Coalition Government should know that encouraging enmity, tribal and political
war among women of this country will not yield positive results. It will not
promote development; instead it will consume them all and lead to instability
in the country.
‘The Gambia has decided’, should not be seen
as a song or praises to the ear of the Coalition Government, but rather it
should be seen as a statement that is truthful, and meant to be against anyone
who disrespects the people of this country just because they are exercising
their right to belong to a political party of their choice.
The
women of this country deserve to be included in the development agenda of the
Coalition Government, including mention in the inaugural speech.
They
need markets to buy and sell their products with ease. They need good drainage
systems to keep their gardens working during the dry season. They need
ownership of land, which is a human right for women as human beings and
citizens of this country.
They
need farm inputs, fertilizers, tractors and anything and everything that will
help ease the burden of farming on them, and make them economically
independent.
The
women of this country need to have access to quality health services that will
promote their reproductive health rights. Pregnant women in the remote areas
need health facilities closer to them that will ensure the survival of the
unborn child and mother’s with no complications. Women want the government to
put in place mechanisms for blood to be available when they need it in our
labour wards, so that no woman will die while giving birth, because of anaemia.
Mr
President, the women of this great country wish that you, at least, highlighted
some of their issues in your inaugural speech; but since that was not the case,
your government can make sure that the Women’s Bureau or the office of the VP
will be accommodative, in addressing all these issues, including action against
gender-based violence perpetrated against women, by making sure that the
Women’s Act and other laws on women be enforced to the letter.
Let
the Women’s Bureau not be turned into a Coalition Women’s Bureau, but a bureau
that will accommodate all the women of this country irrespective of the
political affiliation, since paying tax knows no political affiliation.
Mr
President, it is rather unfortunate that the issue of women using verbal abuse
against each other, from both supporters of coalition and APRC is escalating,
and the government is not helping by holding just one side accountable, while
the other side goes scot-free; when what is important here is that all of them
are citizens of this country, regardless of the party they belong to.
We
hope in the spirit of reconciliation that all those women and children behind
bars will be released, and both sides called to your office for a
reconciliation meeting to settle their differences, so that peace will reign
and development will take place in our motherland.
Mr
President, the growth of women of this country is the growth of The Gambia, and
all of us residing in it, but violence among them will dragged us back to where
we were; so we hope the minister of the Interior will work with the IGP,
Women’s Bureau and VP’s office to look for mechanisms to reconcile women from
different parties and not to wait until they started fighting, and give an
order for the arrest of one side.
When
women start fighting, it could escalate because each woman has thousands beside
her that will stand up and fight with or for her; so it is in the best interest
of all Gambians for this feud to come to an end.
Finally,
we hope that the Coalition Government will approve women candidates for the
National Assembly elections, so that matters concerning them will be addressed
the way it should be in the country’s parliament.
We
also hope that balancing the gender gap will not just stop at appointing a few
females into the Cabinet, but that women will have the opportunity to work side
by side with men across all sectors in the country.
