Dampha, why can't you for once be honest and use your brain. You just rant
and rave like a madman whenever any body says anything about the UDP that
you don't like. I have on several occasions advised you not be too narrow
minded. Why are you finding it that difficult that thick stuff between your
ears logically to see the bigger picture?
You know that you are lying through teeth when you said:
"I think we can agree to disagree on this one. I think however that you have
been bamboozled by Joke. See, Joke is not loyal to the party at all. Joke is
loyal to Yaya and Yaya only. If defending Yaya means saying that the party
is culpable, he will say so. If it means saying that the army is culpable,
he will say so. For the Jokes of this world, the buck stops at them. So long
as Yaya has not touched them personally, they would not even fight for their
own blood relative. So if Joke concedes something in the name of the army or
the APRC or Isatou Njie-Saidy, Joke is not giving the Opposition anything in
the larger scheme of things. Without Yaya, APRC is nothing. Conceding in
APRC's name, does not represent a conflict of interests in the issues that
matter. So your continued insistence that Joke is loyal to the party,
evinces that you are looking at the wrong relationship. I am looking at Joke
and Yaya. You are looking at Joke and the APRC. Tell me what relationship is
more important to the big picture? What character had a bigger impact on the
Massacre of our children? Yaya or APRC"?
You see your warped mind at work again. Where and when did I apportion blame
to the APRC, the Army or isatou Njie-Saidy or our dead school children
alone? When you talk of bamboozling any body it is your very self that you
are refering to.
Yusupha wrote:
"Again, while I believe that anything but the APRC will suffice after the
next elections, I am not satisfied with the way the UDP has conducted its
affairs. I do not think there is anything wrong with raising this grave
concern, especially when the elections are right around the corner. My
discretion in raising these points would be to
assume that this is not an open secret. In other words, EVERYONE WITH AN
INKLING OF COMMON SENSE SHOULD KNOW THE UDP IS HEADED FOR AN ELECTION LOSS
IF THINGS DON'T CHANGE VERY QUICKLY. Only the UDP and her supporters can
change this possibly catastrophe, and I figured highlighting the issue for
all to see would help bring...". Emphasis mine.
Dampha, the above speaks volumes. Do you really want to tell me that you
don't see anything wrong in the ways and manner the UDP is conducting its
affairs? Can't you sense the high level of frustration, desperation and lack
of understanding of UDP's strategy in your camp? For God's sake wake up!
You wrote:
"Brings me to the issue concerning Waa Juwara's comments about the women and
politics. I cannot understand how you can say that he does not believe in
the equal representation of women in politics and other walks of life. First
of all, as I understand it, the man was not being asked to spell out UDP's
policies vis-a-vis the uplifting of women in society as a whole. According
to my reading, he was asked a specific question about the role of women in
political parties. Among other things, he said that all the political
parties were open to women. There was NO barrier stopping women from
entering into and thriving in politics in Gambia. No glass-ceiling in
Affirmative Action parlance. To buttress his point he pointed to people like
Mariam Denton to show that UDP is NOT hostile to women. What Waa did not
also point out was that the influence and respect Mariam has in UDP CANNOT
be compared to the influence any woman has in APRC. The woman is a
professional that represents the party in court in very important case. She
campaigns vigorously for the party and the leadership listens to her ideas".
Dampha let your narrow mindedness run riot with your intellect if you must.
Is it news to Gambians that women are free to join any political party of
their choice? Lamin Waa Juwara was clearly asked about his opinion about the
current genda sensitizations going on in the country and the growing call
for women's increased participation in active politics. Rather than stating
his opinion and by extension that of his party, he instead accuses the women
involved as schemers who are just monoevering to be nominated to the
national assembly. What twisted logic!
For your information, the women concern are none other than Satang Joberteh,
Mrs. Adeilade Sosseh Gaye, Juka Jabang et al. There is no getting around
that fact. The evidence? In the development column of the observer of late
carried numerous articles on the lack of active participation of women in
politics by Satang Joberteh. In a recent symposium on the same that was
followed by a radio phone-in programme, Mrs. Juka Jabang gave an indebt
analysis of the obstacles that face Gambian women when it comes to their
participation in active politics. Amongst the issues raised included amongst
others our general perception of politics and the financial constraints
faced by women. Mrs Adeilade Sosseh on the other hand has been writing in
the Daily observer about how gender sensitive the 1997 constitution is
compared to the 1970 constitution. Do you know, for instance, that in the
1970 constitution citizenship was based on your parternal leanage? In other
words according to the 1970 constitution, children of Gambian mothers born
outside the country of non Gambian fathers did not get automatic
citizenship? These are the same people and a few others plus, I believe
actionaid, that are twinning young impressionable girls with professional
career ladies who are also mothers and respectable wives. This is an
alternative approach wereby these girls will develop a more possitive
attitude towards their education as well as their general attitude to life.
These are the same people together with others who are aslo enlightening our
young boys about the need to lead responsible lives and help protect our
young girls. If you are honest with yourself you will remember that, it is
not so long ago when people actually boasted of impregnating X, Y or Z. It
is not so long ago that our sugar daddies went about irresponsibly
impregnating our school girls left, right and center. And where did it take
us? A more than doubling of our population in less than 2 decades. In the
light of the above I posit that rather than make that irresponsible and
derogatory remark about very fine ladies, Waa juwara should have explained
what the UDP stance towards these issues were. And when you want to tell us
that waa juwara was speaking as an individual and not on behalf of the UDP,
who are you kidding? The Question was directed to Lamin waa Juwara, the
propoganda secretary of the UDP and not Waa Juwara the person.
When you said:
"Now having demonstrated that there was no glass-ceiling in the UDP
hierarchy to the detriment of women, does it make sense for the man to turn
around and tell the interviewer how to solve a problem that does not exist?
Can you solve a gender bias that does not exist? Before you subscribe to the
notion that Waa and UDP are 'antifeminist', why don't you point out to
tangible examples that show that the party discriminated against women. How
many women has shown an interest in politics and were turned away by the
UDP? Waa gave you Mariam's example. Come with a counter example. The fact
that there are very few women in politics in Gambia can be explained by a
number of factors. To narrow the factors down to gender bias, is absurd.
There are equally few highly educated people in politics in Gambia. Do you
want to tell us that political parties discriminate against educated folks
and that
is why we do not have a lot of MPs with post-graduate degrees? Is it not
conceivable that women and educated Gambians are generally disinterested in
politics"?
What utter rubbish again? It is a very big disgrace and an insult to decent
Gambian women for you or Waa Juwara to try to parade Mariama Denton as a
typical Gambian woman, for SHE IS NOT! The lady comes from a big and very
educated and rich family, whose brother was disgraced by the Alghali
commission for corruption. She has every reason to dispise this regime. I
have no qualms about that but to try to paint her as a typical Gambian woman
is total bull. Even with all these advantages over 99% of Gambian women, do
you think Mariama Denton is crazy to try to stand for elections? Not a
chance. You know it, the UDP knows it and so does every right thinking man
in this country.
You again wrote:
"It is unfair to castigate Waa and the UDP without digesting the issue
properly. Joke (and you in your piece) discourage people from confusing Yaya
and the APRC; stating that Yaya is not solely responsible for what the party
does and vice versa. Yet you pick up Waa's statements, twist it, and then
ascribe the statements to the UDP. I am not trying to dissociate the party
from what Waa said, because I think what he said was perfectly in line. I
just want to highlight the inconsistency of your arguments. Again, I
reiterate that I firmly believe in what Waa said until you or Joke can give
us tangible examples to show that UDP is biased towards women. Counteract
Waa's examples".
You see your twisted logic and warped mind at play again. Myopic bigotry is
all there is to your above statements.
You again wrote:
"He was simply saying that if Mariam can do it in the UDP, surely other
women can do it too without the need to give them stuff on a plate. It is
UNFAIR for Mariam to struggle with the party while some of ur
'women-libbers' sit on the side-lines or support the APRC and once the UDP
comes to power, they surface with their entitlement mentality saying that
they are entitled to top positions in the name of affirmative action. That
is wrong and that is what Waa was talking about. Am sure Waa will say the
same thing about some of our educated folk that want to stay aloof during
the struggle, but when things change they appear and start demanding things.
It is not about gender bias. It is about fundamental fairness. The party is
NOT stopping any woman from joining the struggle now. But it has every right
to warn off parasites that want to use affirmative action to get things they
were not willing to struggle for".
Dampha if, even before you have an election strategy or program of action,
all you are thinking about is who occupies what post then you are as stupid
as they come.
You again wrote:
"Just for the record, I am a big proponent of affirmative action here in the
U.S. The difference is that I can point to a glass-ceiling. That is what you
guys that are castigating Waa cannot do. You cannot counteract the examples
he gave in his interview. Now turning to the role of women in society at
large. Why don't you and Joke start by asking the man his views on that and
his party's views on that? You cannot say that by addressing the fairness
issue that was posed directly to him, he evinced that he hates women and
does not want them to get ahead. If anything, that shows that the man
believed in the abilities of our women. He said that any woman that was
interested in politics and wanted to join the UPD would be treated like any
respectable counterpart (male or female). Can the party do more to encourage
women to join politics? Probably yes. But that is very different from saying
that the party is biased against women. I think Hamjatta and others have
touched on the despicable record of the APRC women".
Dampha being a proponent of affirmative action in the US has no relevance to
women living in the Gambia. As the Mandinkas say "Mafanta faata Pari,
Angalewol la muneh be jay"? In other words what has the death of Mafanta, in
Paris, got to do with the English? As for asking Waa Juwara his views or his
party's views on gender sensitization or on affitmative action, my answer is
NO! We will not ask ziltch. He was given the opportunity to do so but
instead he uses that opportunity to castigate very respectable women.
Finally I am puttint it to you that it is very dis-honest of you, Waa Juwara
or the UDP if you want to tell us that both men and women have equal
opportunity to participate in active politics in the Gambia. The playing
field is NOT LEVEL and the ODDS ARE HEAVILY STACKED AGAINST WOMEN.
Have a good day and bye 4Now, KB Jobe.
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