By Aminata Kuyateh
The Inter-Party Committee (IPC) with partners and funding from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) commenced a three-day workshop dedicated to women’s participation and political leadership in The Gambia.
This significant event, held at the SDKJ-ICC, brought together key stakeholders from various political parties, civil society organisations and international bodies to deliberate on strategies to increase female representation in political decision-making positions.
The forum’s main objective is to equip women with necessary skills to become leaders in politics by occupying decision-making positions of political structures both national and regional levels.
The convergence will also train Inter-Party Committee members on legal frameworks on women empowerment, how women can mobilize funds for political campaigns and how they can gain better leadership skills.
Hon. Saikou Bah, co-chair, IPC said the committee has been able to bring all the registered political parties into a committee to foster cooperation in order to discuss issues consensually to promote dialogue and consensus building in the political discourse of the Gambia.
Hon. Bah stated that the inter-party committee is fully committed to using advocacy to enable women to be involved in decision-making process, this was the main reason we ensure that we get 60% women representation in the national structure of the committee.
“In the national development plan Yiriwa, the Gambia government recognises the important role that women play in the national development efforts of the country and has formulated policy guidelines and strategies that will create an enabling environment for the full realization of gender parity in the country”, Hon Bah concluded.
Musu Drammeh, co-chair women, stated that as participatory dialogue continues, “let be assured that the women branch of the inter-party committee (WOBIPC), will continue to serves as a leader and beacon of peaceful development with resolute respect for women in all fields of life”.
She expressed gratitude to the development partners, the UN system, the African Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank for publishing impressive data on the impact of political will for the advancement of the Gambian women.
Mary Badjie, co-chair youth, emphasized the inclusiveness of young women in political leadership. Historically women have been marginalized in political arenas, this is even more pronounced for young women. Their voices, perspectives and contributions have been overlooked, resulting in policies that do not fully address the unique challenges women face.
Ms Badjie urged the government to renew their commitment to empowering youths, supporting young women and transforming their political structures to reflect the diversity and dynamism of their societies.
