Held at the Kairaba Beach Hotel, the event dubbed – ‘Women’s Political Participation’, also seeks to expose women more into politics to be able to contribute to building equitable society.
Her Excellency, Fatoumatta Bah-Barrow presided over the event, which also attracted women from communities across the country.
Addressing the gathering, Fatoumatta Bah-Barrow reminded that the goal of this new project is beyond representation, acknowledging that it is the building of equitable society where diverse and marginalised voices can contribute to shaping the future.
“The project has been a driving force in advancing women's political participation, resulting in a significant increase in women's representation at the local level, being an extraordinary achievement for the Gambia. It has empowered more women to run in local government elections, increasing women's representation within community structures.”
The project, she added, has engaged with traditional and religious leaders, men and women champions in raising awareness about the importance of women's leadership and challenging harmful cultural norms.
The UN Resident Coordinator Karl Frédérick Paul, acknowledged that women represent over half of the Gambia’s population with 57% of registered voters, but their voices have been often absenting from the decision-making processes.
Additionally, she maintained that the project sought to change that narrative and ‘today we celebrate significant milestones that reflect our collective dedication to gender equality.’
For her part, Fatou Kinteh, Minister for Women, Gender and Children Affairs, said that women representation in leadership and decision making in the country remains disproportionately very low.
She thus called the need for the creation of an enabling environment to empower them and to enable them take on leadership roles, and actively participate in political and other governance processes.
