MDG 3 remains a challenge -VP Njie-Saidy

Achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) on women remains a herculean task, as women constitute a low percentage in public life, says Vice-President Aja Dr. Isatou Njie-Saidy.

The vice-president made this statement yesterday at the opening of a workshop on the validation of the Zero Draft Report on Capacity Assessment of Women in Decision-Making and the national women forum, at the Corinthia Atlantic Hotel, Banjul.

The workshop, organised by the Women's Bureau, looked at issues affecting women's development and active participation in national decision-making.

"Women constitute a low percentage than men in public life, thus the attainment of MDG goal 3 remains a mammoth challenge," VP Njie-Saidy noted.

As part of the UNDP 2007 Country Programme, a capacity enhancement for women in decision-making project, with the objective of ensuring increased and effective women's participation in decision-making at all levels, was approved and implemented, the Vice-President further said.

"This project seeks to implement the strategies of the National Policy for the Advancement of Gambian Women and Girls 1999-2009," she explained.

The project, she continued, has four main components, including the training of selected-women leaders in community leadership, advocacy, lobbying and networking; the organisation of a national forum to advocate for the allocation of quota systems for eligible or qualified women in all political parties; raising of public awareness on social benefits of women's participation in decision making, and the establishment of regional information centres in all local government authorities for improved access to critical and timely information and enhanced knowledge based of female leaders.

She advised the participants to closely look at the issues and recommendations, to ensure that realistic and appropriate strategies are developed for effective implementation.

In delivering the welcoming remarks on the occasion, Lamin Ceesay, the deputy chairperson of the Women's Bureau, described the validation workshop as "a political expression of a socially caring state under the able leadership of His Excellency the President Dr Alhaji Yahya Jammeh".

He further noted: "Women and children have the right to participate in all decision-making processes, the right to live in safety and the right to progress economically."

He added that the Women's Bureau would solicit the support of the state so as to fulfil its obligations towards women and ensure their human rights are respected.

In giving an overview of the draft report, the consultant of the Women's Bureau, Mariama Fofana, said the objectives of the study was to conduct a capacity assessment of selected women from selected localities in each of the local government areas and to determine why women do not use their active voting rights to participate in decision-making.

She added that there "is sufficient evidence to show that due to systematic socio-cultural practices of discrimination against women, there is intrinsic tendency for some sectoral development interventions not equitably reaching or benefiting men and women in the same way".

She further highlighted the "high incidence and severity of poverty among women" as compared to men, which, she said, "leads to the feminisation of poverty".

"Development becomes skewed and women who are more than half the population do not get an equitable share of resources because they lack voice and visibility," she added.

For her part, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon Fatoumatta Jahumpa-Ceesay, described the validation assessment as "timely" and made a general appeal to all stakeholders to continue the support they have been providing to the government towards the attainment of goal 3 of the MDGs, the objectives of the Beijing Platform for Action, the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People's Rights, and the rights of women.

In his remarks, the UNDP Representative in The Gambia, Vitale Montil, conveyed the UNDP's appreciation to all stakeholders, especially to the Women's Bureau, for collaborating with the UNDP in executing the "Women in Decision-making project".

"The draft to be received provides the baseline information for realising the goals that we set for ourselves in achieving full empowerment and participation of women in decision-making process," said Mr Montil.

He also urged all present at the workshop to carefully scrutinize the draft document and provide the required information to substantiate the document and set the pace for progress on issues of women in The Gambia.