15 February 2008
The Gambia has expressed its will to encourage women's leadership in line with the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals (MDG), the Daily Observer reports.
Vice-president Aja Dr. Isatou Njie-Saidy has explained that the United Nations Development Programme 2007, aiming at increasing women's role in decision-making, had been approved and implemented.
It comes as former UN secretary general Kofi Annan recently said that "no other policy can raise economic productivity, reduce child and maternal mortality, prevent HIV/AIDS and increase the chances of education for the next generation like the empowerment of women".
The project, which aims at giving women a leading position in politics, will provide better access to training and information, and also intends to raise public awareness on the importance of women's participation to tackle social and health issues.
Consultant of the Women's Bureau, Mariama Fofana, explained that a study will be carried out to determine the reasons why women do not use their voting rights to participate in decision-making.
Lamin Ceesay, the deputy chairperson of the Women's Bureau, described the decision as "a political expression of a socially caring state under the able leadership of president Alhaji Yahya Jammeh".
