Dear Friends,
The strength of a government is directly proportional to her ability to
treat her children and women with dignity and respect.These two groups
are in grave need for protection and for fair treatment by other members of
the society.In most instances women and children are less
economically able to fend for themselves,therefore every negative
trend in society hit these groups first and hardest.
The injustices done on the young of Gambia and the this new trend of
witch hunt in the name of social decency MUST BE SEIZED IMMEDIATELY!
People have a tendency to want to eat regardless of their means to that
end.When a people are void of alternatives to provide for themselves the
basics of life such as food, shelter and clothing they will do socially
deviant undertake to meet these needs.
Face with these kind of trend the government should have the mind set and
compassion to initiate programmes that will provide alternatives to
these socially unacceptable trends.Given the trends in HIV infection rates
in Africa it will not be any womans luxury decision to sell their
privacy to the public such as ours.
Other means of solving this problem other than violence must be adapted!!
kalilu camara
>From: Ramatoulie Gillen <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: The Recent Trend of Violence Against Women... Who Set The
> Ball Rolling?
>Date: Sat, 4 Nov 2000 03:39:44 GMT
>
>Sigga,
> like Astrid said, you've said it all. However, I must add that women
>have been victims in a patriarchal society since the era when we were not
>even given an opportunity to become women. That was when fathers buried
>their baby girls alive claiming that only boys should be born and women
>were
>attacked for not giving birth to boys. Prophet Mohammed came to our rescue
>and taught men, from the Quran, the value of women, how they need baby
>girls
>to grow and become women, and in turn have children. Now, when I read about
>the attacked women and remember the killing of the children/student, I felt
>as if we are reversing back to that era.
>
>Thanks to Yaya's disgusting reign we are the targets of brutality and
>murder. Why didn't the thugs attacked the men who are paying to get laid?
>The women cannot be prostitutes without MEN. These men includes Yaya's
>crew.
>Yes, there is a lot of prostitution in Yaya's government fostered by those
>who ask women for sex. Their payment is the promise of a better position or
>simply to keep their jobs. This also falls into the category of sexual
>harassment. If the thugs are so brave that they would attack people, then
>why didn't they go attack these men, "Saine morom yi" men their size?
>That's
>when I would call them brave. Now they are just chickens who attack
>minorities/women who are trying to find means to put "Ngangkatang" on the
>table for their families. Before Yaya, most women use to sit in front of
>their homes and peacefully sell pancakes, groundnuts, fish pies etc to feed
>their families, not standing on the streets selling themselves. Now, my
>sister-in-law in Gambia told me that Yaya ordered the police to raid anyone
>selling food in front of their homes and by the streets of the market.
>People should have a right to sell food in front of their properties. I
>think that anyone would prefer selling food on the streets rather than
>prostitution. I do not condon prostitution, but Yaya is not offering enough
>jobs for these women. Yaya's day will come.
>Let us have faith in our fight and we will win! Eleanor Roosevelt wrote "HE
>WHO LOSES FAITH LOSES ALL" We most not lose faith.
>Ramatoulie
>
>>From: Sigga jagne <[log in to unmask]>
>>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
>><[log in to unmask]>
>>To: [log in to unmask]
>>Subject: The Recent Trend of Violence Against Women... Who Set The Ball
>> Rolling?
>>Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2000 11:58:24 -0800
>>
>>I join Mr. KB, Mr. Yusupha Jow, and the rest in
>>condemning the recent attack on female sex workers.
>>Of course I do not think prostitution is right, but I
>>think the brutal attacking of these women, is even
>>worse. This is just another indication of the
>>lawlessness that is now rampant in the Gambia. Our
>>country is gradually disintegrating at the hands of
>>security personnel and recently, vigilante groups who
>>make themselves the judges and juries condemning and
>>meting out punishment whenever they so please. This
>>is indeed an indication of the unraveling of the
>>fabric of our society.
>>
>>Let me begin by telling a story that was told to me by
>>a friend of mine who went to the Gambia earlier this
>>year. She said that a cousin of hers whom she had not
>>seen for a long time came to visit her and she went to
>>see her off. They walked to the main road (around
>>Kairaba Avenue) to wait for a taxi. As they were
>>standing there chatting, a security official came to
>>them and yelled "Are you guys prostitutes?" of course
>>my friend and her cousin thought this was ridiculous
>>and told him so. But he insisted that they were and
>>arrested them. He took them to a jail where they
>>found numerous other women. My friend, of course used
>>to standing up for her rights, demanded to talk to his
>>boss on arrival at the jail and she threatened to make
>>sure that the officer who arrested her, will get fired
>>as soon as she gets out of that jail. After enough
>>yelling and hollering by my friend, someone identified
>>as the arresting official's boss was called. And
>>after holding a long discussion with my friend and
>>realizing that this was someone who will go down
>>fighting, he let her and her cousin go. I was
>>appalled by the story and could not help but wonder,
>>if some of the women at the jail were arrested in a
>>similar fashion. I do realize that Gambia is slowly
>>developing a prostitution problem. But do you just go
>>out in the street and arrest any females without
>>having any proof of their being a prostitute? Do you
>>not at least have to see them soliciting a customer or
>>have some other proof, before arresting them? Or is
>>it that the value of Gambian women is so low that they
>>can be arrested at anytime for standing outside,
>>without fear of any reprisal?
>>
>>But who is to blame? Who indeed?
>>
>>First and foremost Yahya Jammeh. Because he is the
>>one who set this trend of lawlessness and he is the
>>one who has promoted several issues that affect women
>>negatively. Remember when girls/women were being
>>arrested/harassed by the police etc for wearing short
>>skirts, etc? Did Yahya ask for this practice to be
>>abandoned? This behavior of the police and other
>>security officials were then picked up by taxi cab
>>apprentices and other elements in the streets.
>>Females were sometimes surrounded, booed, poked, and
>>sometimes even assaulted for wearing short skits, etc.
>> Yahya kept preaching about how it is "Haraam" to wear
>>such things. He then proceeded to condemn skin
>>bleaching and thus the police started arresting,
>>harassing etc, women who bleach their skin, people who
>>sell skin bleaching creams, etc. All this under the
>>guise that he is a Pro-Black-Africa advocate and as
>>such hates the practice of bleaching one's skin to
>>look lighter in color. This was also done under the
>>guise that he is a devoted Muslim an as such condemns
>>the practice. What a hypocrite? Did he not forego a
>>Gambian wife (Black African) only to go marry a white
>>looking African? Just the way in which he abandoned
>>his first wife gives an indication as to his regard of
>>the female gender. And does he not realize that
>>Gambia, although comprised of mainly Muslims, is not a
>>Muslim State. And as such, he the president of the
>>country should not advocate for or promote only Muslim
>>based laws, rules and regulations. He can of course
>>be of whatever religion he so chooses, in his personal
>>life. But as the president of the Gambia, he must
>>respect and regard all the religions of his fellow
>>citizens as equal under the law and must not promote
>>one over the other. If Yahya was a competent leader
>>who believes that if females show a lot of skin by
>>wearing miniskirts etc, it could have negative effects
>>on the morals of our society, or that skin bleaching
>>symbolizes a lack of respect/love for the "Blackness"
>>of one's skin and can cause them skin cancer etc, then
>>what he should have done is, to educate people about
>>the negative consequences that come with these issues.
>> Then after delivering ample education, trust people
>>to make educated choices of whether they want to wear
>>short or long dresses, and whether they want to bleach
>>their skin or not. But of course competence and Yahya
>>Jammeh should not even be uttered in the same
>>sentence. But this is more than just shear
>>incompetence. This is an indication of how the maniac
>>views women. Did he condemn the men who prefer
>>"lighter" looking sisters and the general notion of
>>"Mussu Koyo Sassah Borroh- meaning a light skinned
>>women is a medicine to a man's soul." For if not the
>>sole reason, this notion that the lighter a women
>>looks, the more beautiful she is, and the more men
>>will appreciate her, is the main reason why women
>>bleach their skin. But he instead contributed to this
>>concept by abandoning his darker Gambian wife for a
>>lighter Moroccan wife.
>>
>>Remember when issues regarding family planning in the
>>Gambia were raised? What was Yahya's stance? Did he
>>allegedly not say the he does not support it because
>>Islam is against it? Did he ever condemn the men who
>>keep impregnating their many wives knowing very well
>>that they do not have the means to support so many
>>children, and thus end up leaving these women with the
>>burden of having to fend for these children, while
>>they run from wife to wife? Did he condemn the males
>>who impregnate young girls, then refuse to own up to
>>it thus leaving the girl to suffer the brunt of
>>society alone, and to struggle to raise that child
>>alone? What about Female Genital Mutilation? Did he
>>allegedly not refuse to pass laws illegitimatizing the
>>practice? When has Yahya ever stood up to support
>>women on the issues that really matter? If he has, I
>>would like to know about it because I have not yet
>>heard of it. So now he condemns Imam Fatty, and uses
>>him as a scapegoat to heap all the blame on? Is he
>>not the one who empowered Imam Fatty? When Imam Fatty
>>allegedly uttered statements that were against women's
>>rights, statements dealing with the issues of Female
>>Genital mutilation and Family Planning, did Yahya
>>allegedly not back him? Does he not see that the
>>recent trend, in the Gambia, of attacks by vigilante
>>groups is a result of his own handiwork? Because he -
>>Yahya Jammeh - promoted vigilante groups such as the
>>APRC youth group who go out and commit crimes and
>>violate the human rights of innocent Gambian citizens,
>>just because they are opposers of the APRC government.
>> Did he not give a speech (the six feet deep speech)
>>promoting such action and also calling for the
>>reporting and sacking of his opposers? And now he is
>>surprised that certain groups of the society are
>>becoming more and more vigilante and lawless. Of
>>course they are, for he started the ball rolling.
>>When he did not condemn the lawless acts of the APRC
>>group and in fact seemed to promote it, he set stage
>>for the domino effect. Yes! he set stage for other
>>groups, with courses perhaps different from the APRC
>>youth group, to take example from and be like the APRC
>>group and be vigilante and lawless. After all, the
>>president of the country seemed to think it was O.K.
>>
>>
>>But Yahya is not the sole person to blame. How about
>>the religious leaders? They keep preaching that they
>>fear no man but god, that god is the only entity
>>worthy of worship. Why then do so many of them seem
>>to be gripped with the fear of Yahya Jammeh? If they
>>believe in God so much, why do they not condemn his
>>sinful acts. Or do they think that the murder and
>>maiming of children was not a sin? Because if they
>>did, why did none of them (apart from Pa Dacosta)
>>register their grievances against the lawless trends
>>that were being set in our country by Yahya Jammeh and
>>the APRC? Or is their fear of Yahya greater than
>>their fear of God? They do not hesitate to condemn
>>prostitution, gambling, X-rated movies, etc yet they
>>say nothing when their children are slaughtered like
>>cows. Recently, I saw a newspaper article talking
>>about how religious leaders were speaking out against
>>a certain television series that was being shown on
>>GRTS because it had some immoral content and thus
>>capable of corrupting the Gambian children. How
>>laughable, I thought. Yes! under normal
>>circumstances, I would agree with them on this issue
>>since I am a believer in not allowing children to view
>>immoral movies. But I thought to my self, "Since when
>>did they gain such concern about the Gambian children?
>> Oh! Its O.K. to kill the children, but just do not
>>corrupt their moral fabric?" Many times in history,
>>religious leaders have been the ones to shelter,
>>foster and sometimes, even lead revolutionary acts
>>against injustices to the masses. Just look at
>>Desmond Tutu of South Africa, Serigne Bamba Touba who
>>defied the French during the advent of colonialism,
>>Martin Luther King, and the numerous black churches
>>during the days of slavery. All the above sheltered
>>and fostered the winds of change in order to free
>>their people from bondage and injustice. I hope that
>>our religious leaders will take lessons from them and
>>I hope that they will come to practice what they
>>preach and fear only god and let no man, including
>>Yahya Jammeh deter them from standing up for the
>>truth. And I also hope, that Gambians in general,
>>will stand up and let their voices be heard against
>>any and all injustices meted out against their fellow
>>countrymen and women.
>>
>>
>>=====
>>"NO ONE CAN MAKE YOU FEEL INFERIOR WITHOUT YOUR PERMISSION"
>>
>> ALSO
>>
>>"NOTHING IS UNACHIEVABLE, THE ONLY QUESTION IS, WHETHER ONE IS WILLING TO
>>DO WHAT IT TAKES TO ACHIEVE WHAT IS DESIRED"
>>
>>__________________________________________________
>>Do You Yahoo!?
>>From homework help to love advice, Yahoo! Experts has your answer.
>>http://experts.yahoo.com/
>>
>>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
>>Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
>>You may also send subscription requests to
>>[log in to unmask]
>>if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write
>>your
>>full name and e-mail address.
>>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>_________________________________________________________________________
>Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com.
>
>Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at
>http://profiles.msn.com.
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
>Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
>You may also send subscription requests to
>[log in to unmask]
>if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your
>full name and e-mail address.
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
_________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com.
Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at
http://profiles.msn.com.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask]
if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
