A one day consultative meeting on the draft Women's Bill for National Assembly Members organised by the Women's Bureau was, yesterday, held at the Paradise Suites Hotel in Kololi.

The meeting was a follow-up to a series of consultations made with stakeholders, religious leaders, policy makers, regional authorities, legal practitoners and grassroot women, among others.

The objective of the Bill is to ensure the effective implementation of national and internationally agreed conventions for the effective protection of women and girls' right.

In her opening address, Dr. Ajaratou Isatou Njie-Saidy, vice-president and secretary of state for Women's Affairs, said The Gambia ratified both the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (CEDAW) and the protocol on the Charter on Human and People's Rights on the rights of women in Africa.  She said by ratifying these conventions, The Gambia placed itself under an obligation to honour and implement the basic tenets of CEDAW.

According to her, this final step - consultation with NAMs and other stakeholders leading to the enactment of the bill - is thus far a commitment which was preceded by the drafting of the bill, subjected to a validation.

VP Njie-Saidy urged the NAMs to share experiences and come up with concrete recommendations and contributions for final incorporation to the bill for possible enactment.  

Dr Njie-Saidy further reminded participants that religious laws, particularly Sharia cannot change.

Fatoumatta Jahumpa Ceesay, speaker of the National Assembly said they are committed in whatever they do, adding that this particular bill is of interest to all.  

"We represent the people and one of our missions is to see to it that women of this country are empowered and for effective empowerment of women and girls in this country, we  must ensure that our policies, laws and programmes are well designed and will ultimately respond to the needs of the people", said the speaker.  She expressed hope that they would do the right thing and make sure that they see this bill enacted.

According to FJC, the National Assembly being a legislative body is very willing to see that the bill get enacted. She admitted that President Jammeh has always been committed to the advancement of women and has trickled down. "President Jammeh has made an unequivocal pronouncement of being prepared and willing to honour all its obligations enshrined in the convention.

He has also demonstrated his commitment through official and personal investment in women and girls. We have also achieved much in the areas of education, health, economic empowerment and having this bill will go a long way in fulfilling Gambia's commitment to the advancement of women and girls and the attainment of the MDGs as well as ideally contribute to the attainment of the goals of the policy for the advancement of women and girls. It is therefore timely to forward this bill to the National Assembly" she said.

She then observed that the bill is not just about harmful practices and other sensitive issues, but it also contains more important issues related to women's health, education and economic empowerment. She then saluted the Department of state for Women's Affairs for spearheading the drafting of the bill.

For her part, Marie Saine Firdaus, attorney general and SoS for Justice, noted that Section 28 of the 1997 Constitution recognises the rights of women and provides that "women shall be accorded full and equal dignity of person with men" and that "women shall have the right to equal treatment with men, including equal opportunities in political, economic and social activities".