Eighteen (18) out of Twenty-Two (22) registered political parties in The Gambia have signed a historic communiqué committing to concrete reforms to advance women’s political participation and representation, following the successful conclusion of a two-day National Conference on Women’s Political Participation and Representation.
The conference, held from 15–16 December 2025 at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Center, was convened by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) through the EU CODE-funded project, in partnership with the National Assembly, National Human Rights Commission, Gambia Press Union and the CSO Gender Platform.
Held under the theme “Breaking Barriers, Building Power: Advancing Women’s Political Participation and Representation in The Gambia,” the conference brought together a broad spectrum of national stakeholders to assess the state of women’s political participation and agree on actionable reforms ahead of the country’s next electoral cycle.
Conference delegates acknowledged that while The Gambia has made notable strides in democratic reform, women remain significantly underrepresented in political decision-making. Currently, women hold only 8.6 percent of seats in the National Assembly, 14.2 percent of cabinet positions, and are similarly marginalised in local governance despite constituting more than half of the population and the majority of registered voters.
The conference reaffirmed The Gambia’s obligations under national, regional, and international frameworks, including the Women’s Act, National Gender Policy, CEDAW, the Maputo Protocol, Ecowas Gender Policy, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 5 and 16).
Deliberations highlighted entrenched patriarchal norms, economic and campaign finance barriers, the absence of enforceable gender quotas, limited political literacy and leadership training, political violence and harassment including digital violence.
