SPEECH BY THERESA ADE. JOHNSON DEPUTY DIRECTOR ON THE LAUNCHING OF WAP “WOMEN’S INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE”
VENUE: CORNTHIA ATLANTIC HOTEL, BANJUL
DATE: WEDNESDAY 8th MARCH, 2006.
Friday 10th March 2006

Good Morning,
Madam Chairperson,
Your Execellency Madam Vice President, Distinguish Ladies and Gentlemen,
Members of the Press
And All Protocols Respectively Observed

The society, women in Action For Peace (WAP) is born to women for the sole purpose of fostering peace by raising their voices high against Social injustice and home injustice.

It is a sure group that has come to add to the many voices that strive to advocate for the empowerment of women and truly promoting gender equity.

As GAP believes in peace, it is surely out of peace this noble female society has been born. The need cannot be over emphasised thus the launching of WAP today on Women’s International Day of peace.

Mr Chairman, Her Excellency-our lady vice president, distinguished ladies and gentlemen and our invited guests. You would bear witness with me that our women preferably our mother’s were long ago subdued by men at home. It is true that they had no voice, thus the wrong adage, “A woman’s place is in the kitchen” WAP has come to put women on the male MAP and to wipe away that wrong adage and replace it with, “A woman’s home is every where,” be it in the office, presidential seat, finance minister, pilot, captain, military and anything else a man can do. This Mr Chairman, can only be achieved by systematically conscientising the male folk who seem tenacious to let women have their rights. Women are full of compassion, this has been misunderstood by many a male counterpart taking them to be a weaker sex. You will all agree with me that having a husband that believes in women’s equity makes the home a happier place for the family to dwell.

Mr Chairman, Her Excellency, ladies and gentlemen, you will agree with me that promoting gender equity in a male conscious society cannot be so easy because the men already believe that they should always be ontop in decision making and for developments. With quite some good examples of women dominating men and taking the front seat, we commend, Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf who has become President of Liberia, booting out a footballer and UNICEP’S good will ambassador.

We see our mother here Madam Aja Isatou Njie- Saidy, who has won world recognition as Vice President of our Gambia.

Wangari Maathai, a Kenya deputy Minister of Environment. She won the noble prize 2005 for Environment.

Winnie Mandela, Nelson Mandele’s former wife.
We shall not find it easy to bring men to what we want. But it was not difficult for woman to get Samson in the Bible. We too are able and will be able to bring about women equity. Women are to talk to their male counterparts on their equity. Women are to talk to their male counterparts on their equity, it is not only at a launching that we make our voices heard.

Ladies and gentlemen, as the Assistant Country Director for WAP, I will join hands with my members to bring about the promotion of gender equity in The Gambia and beyond.

LONG LIVE GAMBIA,
LONG LIVE GAP, LIVE WAP.
I THANK YOU.