DOM BAI,
Here is the story on the attack on women from the daily observer.It is very
troubling that this pattern of thuggery continues to take place in the
Gambia.The time has definitely come for people to stand up to this
criminals.The blame should definitely be placed on Jammeh and his facist
government,for the hatred that he has been and continues to preach such as
seding people six feet deep,is just what is being manifested by this thugs.
PASAMBA JOW
Wednesday, November 1, 2000
Following Monday's attack 64
arrested Isatou Touray condemns
attack on 'sex workers' By Pa
Nderry M'Bai, & Sheriff Bojang
Mrs Isatou Touray, a leading gender activist, has
condemned the mistreatment meted out to women
suspected of being sex workers by armed attackers who
vandalised pubs and motels in the Kanifing municipality
early Monday.
Speaking at the Gamcotrap office, yesterday, Mrs Touray
urged the government to bring the perpetrators to book.
"The attack was on women. There was a woman who was
beaten. Some women were stripped and apparently up to
the time I am talking to you, what they are saying is that
the
police are doing something, but there is nothing definite
yet
that has come out," said Mrs Touray. Mrs Touray deplored
that the women were subjected to mental and physical
torture, which she said was a gross violation of their
fundamental rights. "Something has to be done.
They are part of the state, they have a right, and being
single does not mean you are a sex worker. You have a
freedom to live and entertain and enjoy your life as and
when you like it. That does not mean you are doing sex
work and in any case, it takes both men and women to do
sex work," Mrs Touray charged. She decried "the
mistreatment and other inhuman treatment" meted out to
Gambian women. "I think there are certain things that are
going on in this country with regards to women's lives.
That is, any group or vigilante group, can just get up and
say
these women are X, these women are involved in bleaching,
these women are putting on short dresses, these women are
this and that. I think it is unfair to women. Their
individual
rights, their sexual rights, their individuality is being
undermined, their existence is being eroded," she queried.
Mrs Touray complained that Gambian women are being
marginalised even though they constitute 51 per cent of the
population. She said women have been contributing to all
aspects of the socio-economic development of the country.
She also complained about the slow pace of justice in cases
involving women.
"There are certain things that are happening, which if they
happen to a specific group who are not women, will prompt
immediate response. In this case, since... we have not
heard
any statement yet neither from people who matter excepts
the police who have been interviewed by the BBC or
whatever, giving out the state of the issue.
Women are being threatened and I am telling you that every
Gambian women for that matter is threatened and is actually
thinking of some other things. I wonder if this will not be
translated into negative votes in the next coming
elections,
because women have right to self-determination," Mrs
Touray said. 'What should not happen Should not happen'
Contacted for comments on the Monday attacks, the Vocal
State House imam, Alhaji Abdoulie Fatty, said, "I do not
want to comment at the moment because I do not have any
idea about what happened.
" However, Imam Fatty said, "We all want peace and
stability in this country. We all want to go to bed in
peace
and wake up in peace and live with our family. Nobody
wants to be a refugee. That has really scared me a lot, but
being government or individuals, we should all try and do
our
work. We should ensure that what should happen should
happen, what should not happen should not happen." But
Imam Fatty said he totally condemns prostitution in the
country. Bar owner In a separate development, Ajaratou
Mansaray Conteh, a Sierra Leonean refugee and owner of
All Ice International, said the Monday attackers vandalised
her bar.
She added that the attackers also went to her apartment and
threatened to kill her after vandalising the apartment. She
explained, "The boys said they have a message from the
authorities that they should burn the motels and the bars,
because this country is a Muslim country. I said we are
paying tax. The boys said you are a foreigner, we will kill
you. You are making money on our heads. I said no
problem." Update Meanwhile, at least 64 people have been
arrested in connection with the rampage. Among them were
20 non-Gambians.
Most of the detainees have been held at Kairaba police
station. Police insiders said they are looking for more
people
and that their investigations were progressing well. The
police insider said their investigations revealed that
although
the attacks were an organised crime, there was no link to
any religious movement as speculated by many people. The
police source also confirmed those 13 bars and motels were
attacked; three were burnt down, six seriously vandalise
_________________________________________________________________________
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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
