Women in Development - Need for Sustained Further Actions
Friday 6th October 2006

One of the biggest hopes of contemporary national development of The Gambia, like other developing countries, is the emergence of women as strong and impactful contributors to national development. For too many years women have stayed in the back shadows of planning, implementation, and decision- making in matters of national concern and national development. Part of this has been ascribed to the traditional reserve of Gambian women and part to the general cultural/religious restrictions hindering the few fortunate school-going women from pursuing education to higher levels and attendance at school for a good number.

The tide, fortunately, has changed dramatically in recent years gaining greater momentum after 1994. Women are now fully in continuous education achieving very high results in comparison to their male counterparts, and holding major and some times influential positions in government and in the private sector.

Evidence of these developments is apparent in school enrollment and in examination results, in the appointment and engagement of women in high places in government - from the position of Vice President to Speaker of the House, to Secretary of State, Member of Parliament, Secretary General, Permanent Secretary, departmental director, among other leadership positions. The same trend has been evident in parastatial institutions, municipalities and in private sector organisations. More and more we see women are holding and controlling crucial management and technical positions, a situation never envisaged barely three decades ago. But this is the prevalent reality, which looks like it is here to stay and with all visible signs of it moving ahead naturally and inexorably. Furthermore this female citizenry seem to be more serious than their male counterparts, more loyal and dedicated to the national cause. These attributes are believed to derive not only from personal characteristics and abilities of women, but also from their natural maternal instincts. This present set-up must be recognized if we are to understand why women must participate fully in national development at all levels.

Having said this, however, it seems also that women’s momentum is being lost. It would be such an unfortunate travesty if all the effort and struggle of yesterday is allowed to go in vain. The truth is that, following impressive performances of women in recent times at different levels of our national endeavor, the momentum has suddenly just seemed to let up or dwindle a little as women’s groups fail to champion causes touching on their own development. Not only women’s developmental platforms and programmes are being neglected, but also are some more serious issues affecting young women and girls. Take for example the issue of harmful traditional practices such as FGM and very questionable customs such as forced marriages of under aged girls; what is being actively and vigorously done about them though they are recognized to be either harmful, or wrong, or both. FGM and similar practices have been medically found to be harmful to the reproductive as well as the general health of women. Should tradition then be allowed to supersede health? Also the forced marriages of children, some not even reaching their teens, leaves much to be desired, being morally wrong, unfair, mostly torturing, and detrimental to the woman’s future. It presents the situation where a young innocent girl sitting in class today and happy with her schoolmates and friends and her serious educational plans, could wake up the following morning and being bundled and whisked away to a man she doesn’t even know, to a house she never imagined, and brand new relatives she never met. This can be excruciating and both physically and mentally tormenting. Some who say that very young girls used to be married in history, have really missed the point because those marriages were done with the love and consent of the girl and all concerned.

What we have now, really, is naked cradle snatching and overt coercion, if we ever saw one.

It is considered that if women’s groups were active and steadfast, such practices and customs would by now have been a thing of the past. The clarion call therefore, is for women’s institutions and organisations, particularly the leading ones like women’s Bureau and Women’s Council and not forgetting the pertinent action groups, to design effective policies and programmes of action by which to fight and eliminate this cankerous and humiliating scourge on women. In this regard, there are useful protocols and national legislations already in place. What is needed is sustained, further action.

It should be remembered that the active participation and contribution of all women in national development is needed now more than ever.