14 May 2008
International Women's Day was celebrated throughout the Gambia last Sunday, while president Jammeh took advantage of the day to stress the importance of gender equality in the Gambian society.
As reported by the Daily Observer, the president detailed the various agreements that the Western African country has signed in the past to ensure economic, social and professional equality for women and girls in the Gambia.
Among those agreements we find the CEDAW and the Protocol to the Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa.
"As mothers, wives, care givers and decision makers, you continue to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of this country and Africa in general," said the president.
Gender Equality and Women Empowerment constitutes one of the major projects of the UN Millennium Development Goals which aim at eradicating poverty in the world by 2015.
The president also mentioned the challenges which women face in the country which still prevent them from participating fully in the major economic and political decision making processes.