By Adama Makasuba
Fatoumatta Jallow-Tambajang, former vice president of The Gambia has urged women and girls to drive gender justice and take charge of their narratives by holding all leaders accountable to good governance.
She made the call on International Women’s Day celebration held under the theme “Gender Equality.
“Today for Sustainable Development Tomorrow” focused on climate change, I wish half of our humanity’s assets (women and girls) a happy International Women’s Day 2022 with fulfilled aspirations for gender equality in development. The focus of the theme, Climate change, disproportionately impacts on African Women and girls, who constitute the majority of farmers in the agricultural sector,” she said.
She added: “Climate change is increasingly a threat to peace and human security in the 21st century and studies have shown that women and girls bear the brunt. It is therefore a great moral responsibility of local, national and world leaders to implement adopted human rights instruments of women and the girl child and to further champion climate change mitigation policies that protect women and girls from decades of vulnerability.”
The continuous rhetoric; rather than political will of leaders to empower women and girls warps sustainable development and indisputably raise fundamental accountability issues of leaders to fulfil gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow, as called for in SDG5, she said.
“It goes without saying that these violations of gender justice require women and girls to take charge of their narratives by holding all leaders accountable to good governance, rule of law, gender justice in education, decision making, management of natural resources and climate change.
“I hereby challenge all women and girls to drive this gender justice agenda and build genuine partnerships to fast-track gender equality today for a sustainable development tomorrow in their countries and world at large. God bless all women and girls,” she added.