Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy, vice president and secretary of state for Women's Affairs, yesterday, presided over the opening of a three-day international AU experts' meeting on the status of reporting and implementation of the Solemn Declaration of Gender Experts in Africa and on the African Women's Decade (2010-2020).

The event was held at the conference room of the Jerma Beach Hotel in Kololi. The three-day meeting jointly is organised by the AU and the Government of The  Gambia as part of the activities marking the International Women's Day celebrations.  It has a two-pronged profile, presentation on the mandate or contextual framework of and reporting on the implementation process of the Solemn Declaration of Gender Experts in Africa (SDGEA), highlighting the lessons learned, challenges and plans for the way forward.

It will also feature presentation on the draft framework, operational strategies and a road map for the proposed African Women's Decade to be observed some times in October 2010 to 2020, with its objectives in thirteen operational strategies which targets the interventions to combat HIV/AIDS, women's participation in peace processes for conflict resolution, elimination of gender-based violence and attainment and maintenance of gender parity principle in all spheres of national endeavours, among other issues.

It is believed that with collective participation of experts in this meeting, the outcomes should be effective and results-oriented to provide informative reporting on the current status of SODGEA, with realities in the AU member states and further chart out viable and responsive strategies on the way forward to safeguard the gender equality needs and aspirations of all women in the continent.

Ralphina de Almeida, senior lecturer at the University of The Gambia, who chaired the opening session, urged the participants to be courageous, and efficient in their identification of sustainable strategies and initiatives, which have the potentials for attaining rapid and meaningful gender equality in Africa. Delving on the second dimension of the agenda, Almeida noted that it involves the preparation of modalities for observance of the proposed African Women's Decade (2010-2020).

Almeida further informed the meeting that deliberations during the session will identify practical and effective measures of the implementing activities for the realisation of this innovative proposal to launch an African Women's Decade, whose unique charm will not only benefit women of the continent, but will also serve to motivate the women of other regions around the world to emulates its aims and achievements.  

Declaring the session open, Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy, vice president and secretary of states for Women's Affairs, described the meeting as timely, and expressed with optimism that it will accelerate the rate of implementation of the AU Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality, since it will avail them the opportunity to further brainstorm, devise and develop strategies which may be integrated and implemented during the African Women's Decade (2010-2020). Many member states, she added, including the Gambia have not yet submitted their reports regarding the Solemn Declaration by the AU.

According to her, this could be as a result of many factors, key amongst them, being the lack of aggressive follow-up, lack of adequate time, resources and expertise and too many conventions and protocols to report on regarding the African Women's Decade. In Africa, the VP went on, new directions and concerted efforts are required for the attainment of gender equality and the advancement of women and girls. She said the forum will accord them the opportunity to re-double their efforts in the area of gender mainstreaming at all levels and by all actors, formulation and effective implementation of sound and relevant strategies on women's empowerment, in particular economic empowerment.

"We, African women, should ask ourselves what actions we ourselves have taken, what we have done, to advance our own status and what the outcomes of these actions are. Again lets question what is yet to be done, and how we can do better. Answers to these questions would form the implementation framework of the African Women's Decade (2010-2020). This is all the more reason why some of us ministers and experts who attended the brainstorming session on the AU Women's Decade, came up with twelve (12) key guiding principles, which I hope will be useful during your discussions and in coming up with critical recommendations for the effective implementation of the strategies for the African Women's Decade, and other gender-related polices, declarations, programmes, resolutions, protocols and/or decisions," she said.

VP Njie-Saidy commended the Gambian Women for the upcoming celebrations of the International Women's Day which is scheduled to commence at the 22nd July Square, in Banjul on the 9th of May, to which she invited all participants in the session. She thanked President Jammeh, whom she described as the number one advocate for women's advancement and the attainment of gender equality not only through official means but at a personal level. According to her, he sponsors girls education through PEGEP and the Girls Education Trust Fund to create parity at Lower and Upper Basic levels, and equally invests in both male and female youth education at the tertiary level and non-formal education sectors for adults.

The vice president and secretary of state for Women's Affairs further informed the meeting that through the Jammeh Foundation for Peace, several projects have been implemented in the areas of health, education, agriculture and environmental management which yielded benefits to women and girls.  She said The Gambian leader has also initiated a Women's Empowerment Programme which paves the way for women's participation in state matters, decision-making and politics.

On education
She said the sector has proven to be effective and responsive towards ensuring quality education for all. 'A lot of investment has gone into girls' education and now we have achieved gender parity at Basic Level. The challenge now is maintaining these achievements, ensuring quality and relevance for all and at all levels.  In the area of skills training, a lot of facilities and services have been put in place which have given girls a second opportunity to develop their careers. Women's career development also needs further attention especially on courses, particularly for those in the lower and middle levels of employment'.

Health and other sectors
In the area of health, she noted related that infrastructural development has been centre stage in governments policies, followed by human capacity development and provision of equipment and basic services in the rural areas. Maternal and infant fees have been waived by the president, resulting in maternal and child mortality rates going down. In the economic sectors, she went on, participation of women has improved, but she was quick to add that the number needs to be increased.

She added that women are also running major businesses in the export and import sector, as well as in the services and tourism sectors. In the banking sector, women are also in key positions. However, whilst there are positive stories in political and economic empowerment indicators of women, reflected by the high positions they hold both in the public and private sectors, more needs to be done. The Gambia's Number 2 observed that women still constitute a significant minority at the higher levels such as wholesale-related enterprises, success in the ownership of industrial concerns, and in the top managerial positions of big private sector institutions.

She also said that women continue to constitute the majority in subsistence agriculture and in the mostly impoverished informal sector of the economy in various fields. These statistics, she noted, are not in keeping with the demographic proportions of women and their political  and positive impact in the national drive to fight poverty and improve the overall socio-economic growth.  To effectively reverse these trends, sustained gender parity and empowerment is the continuing challenge which forms the bedrock of the current Women's Empowerment Strategy of The Gambia and all related policy and programme interventions emanating from its implementation. Regarding violence against women and girls, she described this as another critical problem that needs to be addressed. According to her, this requires concerted efforts from all stakeholders.

VP Njie-Saidy thanked all the members of the organizing committee for their efforts, and expressed special thanks to the government departments, especially the Department of State for Finance and Economic Affairs, and others key partners for assisting in the successful hosting of the AU Gender Experts meeting and organization of the 2009 International Women's Day Celebrations. The ceremony was graced by Fatoumata Jahumpa-Ceesay, the speaker of the National Assembly; the chief justice and three secretaries of states and the National Assembly members.