By Makutu Manneh
The National Women’s President for Unite Movement for Change has called on Gambian women to rally behind Kanifing Municipal Council Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda’s bid for the presidency, arguing that his leadership offers the clearest path to easing the economic hardship many women face.
Matty Kanyi, the Movement’s National Women’s President, made the appeal on Saturday at the UMC Women’s Congress in Farafenni, telling delegates that women understand their own struggles better than anyone else and that Mr. Bensouda is positioned to address them.
Ms. Kanyi said Gambian women had repeatedly been let down by past political promises and urged them to set aside old patterns of division ahead of the vote.
“Gambian women have endured a lot, but we keep facing hardship partly because of our own choices,” she said. “We have allowed ourselves to be deceived again and again. I am telling Gambian women that the time has come for us to unite.”
She pointed to recent infrastructure gains—including electricity expansion and road construction in urban areas—as evidence of what organized political participation could achieve, telling the gathering that such projects exist because of the votes and tax contributions of citizens, including women.
Ms. Kanyi argued that Mr. Bensouda’s record as a two-term mayor of Kanifing Municipal Council distinguished him from other candidates seeking the presidency.
“The Gambia has never had a candidate like Talib,” she said. “He is seeking the presidency after two terms as mayor, and the people supporting him are doing so because of the work he has already shown he can do.”
She said many of those now backing Mr. Bensouda had previously expressed skepticism but had since been persuaded by his track record, adding that women in both urban and rural communities were growing weary of current living conditions.
Turning to the country’s ongoing electricity shortages, Ms. Kanyi described the toll the outages have taken on households since the Tobaski holiday, saying many families had been unable to safely store meat in refrigerators and some residents had resorted to sleeping outdoors because of the lack of power. She added that in some communities, running water was unavailable until as late as 3 a.m.
She closed her remarks with a renewed call for women to organize and vote as a unified bloc in the coming election.
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