We commend Mrs. Amie Sillah, a gender activist, who
represented The Gambia at the CSW (Commission on the Status of Women). CSW held
its 52ndedition in the United
States recently. In a
revealing interview with The Point she
has outlined the work of CSW. She said it, "provides a distinguished place in
the UN agenda that is entirely devoted to examining the state of progress for
women." This is indeed a noble enterprise especially in the context of the
other facts she revealed in the interview. Mrs. Sillah said, "Women still
comprise the majority of the world's absolute poor and are without access to
education. Additionally the disparities in pay for equal work in paid work,
continued high maternal mortality, prominent HIV infection rates, and the
pandemic of violence against women are clear indicators that our commitments to
this gender specific issues must be redouble."
The case for a redoubling of efforts cannot be more
succinctly outlined than it is above. It will be to our eternal shame if we do
not knock down and smash all barriers to the empowerment of women. Women are
the backbone of our nation. Their contribution to the lives of us all cannot be
overstated. If we do not redouble our efforts and become a shining example of
the empowerment of women on the continent of Africa
the generations that follow us will mock us for our failures. Is it not deeply
shocking to think that in 2008, in a civilised society, which is on the
difficult path to development, that we might have one of our female citizen's
outline what Mrs. Sillah outlined in her interview with this paper? A good way
to think of this is if the above situation were to apply to the entire
population instead of just women. If every man woman and child were to
constantly suffering violence at the hands of others, was denied education, was
subject to discrimination and were the victims of prominent HIV infections
would society tolerate it? We are all too aware that there would be outcry and
very possibly all out revolution until the people got the rights to which they
are entitled. While we must commend the efforts that are being made towards the
empowerment of women we must keep the above scenario in mind at all times. It
must be the fire underneath us; a perpetual reminder that we must continue and
redouble our efforts so that women can be allowed to take their proper place at
the table. There is no doubt we are moving in the right direction; what we must
do now is accelerate the process. This acceleration will be boosted through the
wonderful work of women like Mrs. Amie Sillah and Dr. Isatou Touray but
ultimately the change we need to achieve can only become a reality if everybody
in the nation works together towards this goal.
