Editorial,

It is common to hear people talk about women's empowerment and the liberation of women from poverty and domestic oppression and exploitation as pre-requisites for national development. Issues concerning women are hence integrated in the national policies and programmes. What is different, however, is the practicalisation of such policy statements.

Often we highlight the giant steps taken by President Jammeh in ensuring that women in The Gambia take full control of the issues that affect their lives - from the homes to the farm lands, to the functioning of the state machinery. Modern equipment are made available to them in the rice field to ease the intensity of labour, they have access to improved health service delivery, thus reducing the infant mortality rate, and, at the core of decision making, ensure tangible representation of women.

One can therefore justify beyond all reasonable doubt that President Jammeh is an icon in the emancipation and liberation of women from poverty and exploitation. It is therefore not surprising for the Africa female parliamentarians to honour our president, describing him as a role model in the struggle for their freedom, and singling out The Gambia to be the home of their secretariat.

In fact, the outpour of positive sentiments during their courtesy call on the Gambian leader elucidates the level of acknowledgement of our triumph in the field of women's empowerment in the whole of the African continent.

We remain optimistic that our women will continue to recognize that they have a president who is standing by them at all times and anywhere. Imagine a president who gives women free maternal health, educating the girl child for free and initiating a series of development projects that go a long way to better the lots of women. Each time he speaks, he reiterates his commitment to supporting this group of the society as he constantly pledges more for them.

This is what our sister African nations should emulate. The degree of a country's development can be gauged by the participation of its women in the development process, just like the president put it the other day. Their empowerment therefore does mean integrating women issues in the national policy statement.

History has proven that despite their exploitation and subjugation, women, particularly those in Africa, have contributed immensely to the advancement of humanity. They were vanguards in the African revolution against imperialism; hence they deserve the right to become active actors in the shaping of our collective destiny. We wish the West African female parliamentarians all the best of luck in their endeavours to engender greater social justice in Africa.

Our president will always be a pillar for you. We hope our brothers and sisters across the continent will gain the necessary awareness and come on board, so that collectively, the house that we build can become a home.