From The Independent Absence of women in National Assembly is unacceptable Gender activist asserts The executive director of the Association for Promoting Girls and Women Advancement Binta Sidibeh has said that the absence of women in the National Assembly is an unacceptable situation, which will be put to an end. Speaking to The Independent in an exclusive interview, Mrs. Sidibeh a gender activist said that female activists in the country have done a lot of positive things for the development of the country and will continue with the trend which will climax to the time when many women are elected to the National Assembly. She said that some women interviewed by them are very keen on contesting for seats in the National Assembly. According to her the women whom she stopped short of naming have already been identified and encouraged to “step” into politics. Mrs. Sidibeh revealed that they were thinking of allowing only one woman to contest in each constituency where other contestants are men. She also said plans are underway to talk to the leadership of existing political organisations to field women as candidates some constituencies. Reacting to a recent editorial in The Independent which criticised the perceived lack of courage by educated Gambian women to involve in mainstream politics and provoked them to do so, Mrs. Sidibeh described the suggestions as very positive and challenging for women. She said its effect would trigger women into action and remind gender activists of the need to take up the challenge. “The presidential election has come and women were absent especially the gender activists. Now that we are approaching the parliamentary election, the question is whether women will remain silent” she added. Mrs. Sidibeh pointed out that the position of women as second-fiddles in Gambian society emanated from socio- cultural practices and age-old traditional norms that have been reinforced through the years. Therefore she said, women cannot be blamed for being dormant in a male-dominated area like politics. Mrs. Sidibeh criticised men for not giving chance to women to lead, saying “because women are seen as second class citizens who must be led and told what to do.” Mrs. Sidibeh said that FAWEGAM and APGWA have done a lot of sensitization exercises in politics and the constitution. She said they have advocated earlier that women should be actively involved in politics. She added that they have been trying to ensure a level gender playing field, which should reflect within individual parties. She said women have been participating in politics, but posited that the representation by women in key political institutions is more significant Mrs. Sidibeh promised that a female presidential candidate would have been groomed in the next five years. She said the lack of resources and the absence of good organisation the idea of a woman contesting for the presidency in the last election was aborted. She however, made it clear that a party with greater interest for the role of women will be formed and will not be based on gender lines. Quizzed on whether women are ready to contest as independent candidates in the National Assembly election, Mrs. Sidibeh said that there are a few women who don’t want to be identified with political parties but are prepared to contest on their own ticket as independent candidates. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>> To view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>