25th November 2024
PUBLIC STATEMENT
In Solidarity with Girls and Women
The Edward Francis Centre for Rights and Justice joins the rest of the world in 16 Days of Activism which kicks off today November 25 to run until December 10 which is the International Day of Human Rights. Under the global theme, ‘UNiTE to End Violence against Women’ EF Small Centre laments the harsh reality that women and girls live in society where in every 10 minutes, a woman is killed globally. We wish to re-echo and join diverse voices to say there is no excuse for violence against women and girls.
In marking this period, we wish to first welcome the creation of the Ministry of Gender, Social Welfare and Children in 2019. In the same vein, we also welcome the enactment of the Persons with Disabilities Act 2021 and the launch of the National Gender Policy 2025 – 2034. Similarly, we welcome the failure of the attempt to lift the ban on FGM in the National Assembly in August 2024. We consider these institutions, laws and policies and other measures already in place to be a demonstration of political will and commitment by the State for the promotion and protection of the rights of women and girls including women and girls living with disabilities, and mental health.
Notwithstanding, we wish to highlight a number of issues, concerns and offer recommendations in order to enable the state and society to effectively confront violence against women and girls which is highly prevalent in the Gambia. In the first place, the continued presence of patriarchy and caste systems pose a clear and present danger to women and girls. Consequently, the incidence of SGBV, marginalization, exclusion and discrimination against women and girls which are all forms of violence continues to be normalized and perpetuated in homes, communities, schools, workplaces, public places and within institutions in the public, private and civil society sectors. The prevalence of patriarchy and its offshoot, the caste system are a social, cultural, economic and political system which underpin the challenges that confront women and girls in society.
Thanks to patriarchy and the caste system, women and girls continue to face harmful traditional practices, under-representation in power and decision-making structures, limited education, unemployment, poor health as well as inadequate rescue, safe and rehabilitation services and facilities for girls and women survivors of SGBV.
Currently there is less than 10% women representation in the National Assembly and the Cabinet as the highest decision-making bodies in the country where 51% of the population are women and girls. We have also noted from various reports by both Government and non-state actors the increasingly dire situation of women and girls with mental health issues where resources, services and facilities necessary to cater to their needs remain hugely inadequate in all respects. The situation remains the same for women and girls with disabilities who also face severe discrimination, powerlessness and voicelessness hence endure perpetual violence.
We refuse to accept that a Gambian mother should die while giving birth to a Gambian child. We lament the fact that not only budgetary allocations to sectors and services that serve women and girls are inadequate but also there is poor enforcement of laws and weak parliamentary oversight thereby pushing more women and girls into situations of vulnerability.
Another issue and concern we wish to raise are the difficulties schoolgirls face accessing sanitary pads thereby affecting their right to education and health among other challenges. In this regard, we wish to also highlight the situation in workplaces across the public, private and civil society sectors in regard to sexual harassment which is an epidemic in our society. Most workplaces in the Gambia, if not all, do not fully and deliberately cater to the needs of women staff members who are pregnant, suckling or undergoing menstruation. In fact, most workplaces do not create safe spaces including counseling and therapeutic services for women employees in need.
We consider these issues and concerns to be pertinent, perennial and widespread for which the institutions across the state, businesses and CSOs as well as traditional authorities and communities have a legal, political and moral obligation to address.
In light of the foregoing, EF Small Centre hereby recommends the following to all duty bearers within the state and society to consider:
- The President and his Cabinet, the Speaker and National Assembly Members as well as the Chief Justice and judicial officers should further demonstrate political, legal, administrative and judicial will, commitment and action to protect the rights of women and girls by ensuring adequate allocation of resources, enforcement of laws, the provision of services and the opening of safe spaces and opportunities for the full protection, participation and representation of women.
- The Inspector General of Police, judges and magistrates should give adequate attention to SGBV cases by creating effective monitoring and reporting mechanisms to encourage survivors and witnesses to report SGBV cases, and to diligently investigate, prosecute and convict to ensure effective access to and delivery of justice.
- There is an urgent need to review the Domestic Violence Act, and the Sexual Offences Act to address gaps or weaknesses in them to ensure the full protection of women and girls. The issues of sexual harassment, marital rape, and the full extent of harmful traditional practices among others need to be adequately captured in these laws.
- The Women’s Act requires review to address the issue of women’s political participation and representation by providing for gender quotas among other measures.
- Furthermore, the Women’s Act needs a review to remove the provisions creating the National Women’s Council (NWC). Instead, there is a need for separate legislation for the creation of the NWC whose composition and governance should be made more democratic, and its management and operations become professional and strengthened. The current NWC is inadequate as it is politicized and lacking any strong legal, technical and professional capacity to perform its functions efficiently.
- Furthermore, there is a need to constitutionalize a 50-50 gender representation in the National Assembly and in all local councils and all governing councils, commissions of inquiry and boards of directors of all public institutions.
- In this vein, political parties should also institutionalize gender quotas in their constitutions and bylaws and ensure that presidential candidates alternate between male and female candidates.
- The Advisory Council for Persons with Disabilities, which was created by the Persons with Disabilities 2021 to facilitate the implementation of the Act, requires adequate resources, office space of its own with necessary staff and materials to be effective. Since its creation in 2022, the Council has been dormant, under-resourced and unable to perform its functions as it should.
- We call on the National Human Rights Council, the National Women’s Council, the Advisory Council for PWDs, and CSOs as well as private businesses to continue and strengthen efforts at the promotion and protection of women and girls.
- The Ministry of Gender, Social Welfare and Children is not accessible to its target population, especially persons with disabilities because of its location. Therefore, there is a need for the Government to allocate a piece of state land to the Ministry where it should build a suitable office complex that will guarantee inclusion and access by all.
- In this regard, we call on the Ministry to demonstrate more effective leadership and commitment than it is currently doing to ensure that all necessary policies, laws and institutions are effectively utilized and effectively performing their functions for which they are created.
- Similarly, we call on the National Assembly to play a more effective oversight role to ensure public institutions and private businesses are upholding and abiding by the law in protecting girls and women. In particular, we call on the National Assembly select committees on human rights, gender and health to play a more effective leadership role to ensure all other parliamentary committees prioritize women’s rights and gender equality in the governance and development processes of the country.
- Finally, we urge all stakeholders across the state and non-state sectors to actively support and stand by women and girls to adequately benefit from opportunities, goods and services, to have adequate space and freedom to participate and to enjoy the full extent of human rights.
We conclude with this quote from our award-winning and global leader in the fight against violence against women, Fatou Baldeh, Executive Director of WILL, by reminding all stakeholders to take all necessary steps to expose and combat violence against women and girls,
“Violence doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Usually, when violence happens, there is already a conducive environment that makes it possible.”
In the Spirit of Edward Francis Small, For The Gambia Our Homeland