By: Nyima Sillah
The Former Executive Director of the Women’s Bureau, Aja Binta Jammeh-Sidibe, has opined that there is no peace when women are not involved or represented in decision-making for national development.
“There is no peace when women do not have their rights which encompass many things. Women’s rights involve everything. Their right to health, economic empowerment, education, representation at all levels, and more,” Madam Sidibe told The Voice following the recently forum concluded Women, Peace, and Security Forum
She opined that when women are represented at the decision-making levels, they can influence others to draw programmesand policies and come up with laws that will enable women to have their rights in their rightful places.
Madam Sidibe also called for a greater allocation of budget to the Ministry of Gender for the promotion of women’s rights.
She explained: “Once that is not done and we think of other issues, marginalising women and neglecting their social and economic welfare, being harassed or violating their rights, there will be no peace. Imagine when a woman is beaten at home when a woman is being raped in their rice fields and gardens so we are not at peace as they are not secure. We need to have the security of women in place and put policies in place.”
She also appealed to the government to always enforce conventions on the rights of women which she said will also empower women to exercise their rights.
Meanwhile, she described the forum as a vital gathering, saying women’s security is important for all women to come together and have the government and CSO involved.
She explained that women and children are vulnerable groups when economic empowerment is lacking when they are faced with sexual harassment, violence, and issues such as FGM.
“Women need to have peace and security, they have to be secured at their workplaces they have to be secured at their gardens especially those in rural areas because we still have the issues of rape in those places when they are on their way to their gardens, and when girls are going to schools,” she observed, while described the forum as a vital in the protection and promotion of women’s rights