Omar Badjie, executive director for Action Aid- The Gambia has described celebration of International Women’s Day and, launching of the Rural Women Assembly (RWA), saying rural women are vital contributor to national development.
“The celebration of International Women’s Day and, launching of the Rural Women Assembly (RWA) is valuable is part of recognizing the valuable contribution that rural women are engaged to ensure national development and called all to do more in the fight of climate change by contributing less to their [women] mission,” he said the remark during the launching of the RWA and the celebration of the International Women Day.
The event was spear-headed by Activista- in collaboration with Action aid the Gambia and funded by EU held on Monday at Senegambia Beach Hotel in Kololi.
Director Badjie said that the RWA is a continental iniative mean to women empowerment advocacy, adding UN says the rural women in this part of the world constituted about 43% of the labour force in agriculture and they are key players in food production, process and preparartion.
“The rural women also play a vital role in marketing of agricultural products as well as feeding their families. However, the facts further revealed that they [women] constituted quarter of the world population and their livelihood is mostly dependent on agriculture and natural resource.”
He said: “Over the past years we realised increment of vulnerability of women especially in food insecurity resulting to climate related hazard such as flood, drought, outbreak of pest and disesase and this led to hunger and malnutrition.”
“This also increases women reliant on men for survival which made them vulnerable to violence and sexual violence in particular,” he noted.
He affirmed that the women policy for land will not only enable them to have access to land but the policy must be seen taken account for women’ ownership and control of lands as well as other relevant natural resources to ensure their wellbeing in the society.
“When land ownership is guranteed to women, they will feel motvated enough to invest and improve the productivity of the land to increase yield and production.”
“Therefore, the formation of the RWA would assess the women the opportunity to mobilised national effort toward developing their advocacy,” he noted.
The AA-TG country director added the RWA advocacy had been formed in various Africa countries to lead the advocy while given reference that Fatou Trawally, a Gambia is appointed as the chairperson for the assemble in the west African bloc.
However, he hailed EU for their effort in empowering the Gambian women. He added EU endeavor to promote women empowerment in the tiny West African state is recognised and appreciated.
Author: Sulayman Waan
