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Ecowas Women Ministers hold Meeting

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Friday, May 16, 2008

The Vice-President and Secretary of State for women’s Affairs, on Monday offcially opened the two-day meeting of ECOWAS Ministers of Women Affairs on behalf of the President Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh, at the Jerma Beach Hotel in Kololi.

The two-day meeting was organised by the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre in collaboration with UNIFEM. The meeting brought together Ministers of Women Affairs from the West African sub-region and was meant to examine and adopt the strategic plan of the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre.

In delivering her speech, the Vice President and Minister of Women Affairs, Dr Aja Isatou Njie-Saidy, said that the event is historic because, as it is first of its kind in The Gambia contemporary history.

She therefore seized the opportunity to express her sincere appreciation to the ECOWAS Commission and the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre in particular for choosing The Gambia to host such a high profile meeting that is tasked with the responsibility to validate and adopt the 2009 - 2013 Strategic Plan of the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre.

Vice-President Njie-Saidy also outlined that the Strategic Plan, which is a critical framework, revolves around four priority areas of intervention namely: Institutional and Organisational Capacity Building; Gender and equitable; Access to social services; Economic empowerment and Human Rights; Conflict prevention and resolution; Good Governance; Peace and Stability.

According to her, mainstreaming gender in the gevelopment process is a pre-requisite for uplifting the status of women within the ECOWAS sub-region. In this connection, she commended the ECOWAS Commission in general and the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre in particular for the laudable initiatives putting gender issues at the centre stage of the integration process.

In his statement, Hon. Abdou Kolley, Secretary of State for Trade Industry and Employment, said that there is global consensus on the fact that regionalization constitutes a powerful tool for economic development. Consequently, he urged that they should never relent in their efforts to push the regional integration process forward, noting that gender issue is central to their development agenda in the sub-region.

“I warmly congratulate the ECOWAS Gender Centre for having the vision to formulate a strategic Action Plan in which human development and gender constitute priority areas. This confirms the commitment of ECOWAS leaders to promote gender equity and equality in the region, and in so doing, improve the living conditions of West African people”, he said.

For her part, Madam Aminatta Dibba, Acting Director of ECOWAS Gender Development Centre, expressed her deepest appreciation and profound gratitude to his Excellency the President of The Republic of The Gambia Dr. Alhaji Yahya A J J Jammeh for accepting to support this important event. She added that the importance the Gambian leader attaches to this meeting is no surprise because of his well known commitment to the advancement of women not only in the Gambia but also throughout the African continent, and the world at large.

According to her, without the technical support of the United Nation’s Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the strategic plan will never be finalized. The plan, she said incorporates the need for the ECOWAS Gender Centre to reposition itself and to articulate a more strategic approach in its effort to adequately respond to the changing economic, social and political needs of women and men within the ECOWAS region.

“I wish to underscore that, if adopted, the strategic plan wish is built around four priority areas of intervention, have been translated into twelve specific objectives and fifty priority action areas. This will, she noted, contribute towards the sustainable improvement of the well being of women and men within the ECOWAS region by creating a socio-cultural, legal, economic, institutional environment which will be conducive to gender equality and effective gender mainstreaming into national policies, development programmes and projects. ‘‘it will also strengthen the collaboration between the ECOWAS gender development centre and the gender ministries in the sub-region”, she concluded.

Author: by Mariatou Ngum- Saiday

International Day on Zero Tolerance in FGM observed

Monday, February 11, 2008

The Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices (IAC), comprising various national committees throughout 28 African countries, and 16 countries outside of the African continent, has observes on February 6, 2006 as the 5th anniversary of the international Day on Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). This year’s theme is “Partnering with the media to reach Zero Tolerance to FGM.”

Taking from that perspective, the slogan “Zero Tolerance to FGM’’ means that FGM should not be tolerated for any reason, at any time, place or anybody. FGM has been recognised as violence against women and girls and coupled with other medical, social, psycho-sexual and economic consequences, the practice should not be allowed to continue under the guise of traditional or religion.

According to the dispatch IAC, February 6 was adopted as a day to draw attention worldwide to the menace of FGM culminated from a joint meeting IAC and held at the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Addis Ababa, from February 4 to 6, 2003.

Consequently, the United Nations Sub-committee on human Rights not only recognised February 6 but has also been marking the Day in Geneva in collaboration with IAC Geneva office under the leadership of Mrs. Berhane Ras-Work, the IAC executive Director. Also celebrating February 6, 2008, is the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Geneva. It would hold a panel discussion and Press Conference on “How to end the practice of FGM”.

IAC and its partners the UN, Governments, International and local NGOs among others agreed to commemorate February 6 as a day to strategise, reflect, deliberate on FGM and to re-new commitment to end this human rights violation in the name of tradition. All action towards ending FGM is in accordance with article 5 (Elimination of Harmful Traditional Practices (HIPs) in the protocol to the African Charter on Human and peoples’ Rights of Women in Africa.

The World Health Organisation estimates that about 120 million African women and girls have been subjected to FGM. African immigrants have taken the practice to Europe, America and Asia thus making FGM a global concern. It is the goal of IAC and other stakeholders that the millions of at-risk cases to FGM every year are prevented and that the traditional practice would be eliminated by 2015 in line with the Millennium Development Goals:-

(3) Promote Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment

(4) Reduce child mortality

(5) Improve maternal health

The Inter-African Committee believes that to eliminate FGM, there must be a multi- dimensional approach that involves all stakeholders. IAC at the 2003 International conference on Zero Tolerance to FGM presented a common Agenda for action for the elimination of FGM which was adopted by the conference as a tool for harnessing energy to achieve Zero FGM worldwide.

IAC partners with the media because the media reaches a wider segment of the population with powerful and lasting messages. Therefore their involvement in the campaign would likely accelerate reaching the goal of eliminating FGM.

From 1993 to date, IAC has been working closely with the media by organising media workshops, conferences, press briefing and through direct involvement of media professionals in program planning and implementation in the different countries where IAC has National Committees.

Engaging the media in the campaign against FGM has resulted in some successes top of which is breaking the taboo on the FGM and making it a public discourse.

It could be recalled that the Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices is an international non governmental network organisation founded in Dakar, Senegal in 1984. The vision of IAC is to see “A society in which African women and children fully enjoy their human right to live free from harmful traditional practices”.IAC has its headquarters at the UN premises in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and a liaison office in Geneva, Switzerland.

Author: by Mariatou Ngum-Saidy