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| toubab1020 |
Posted - 22 Jun 2017 : 08:45:01
I REFER THE READER TO THE TOPIC TITLE AND ASK THEM TO POST THEIR THOUGHTS.
Marry more women:Public reacts,Hamat clarifies
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
Alead story on the Monday edition of The Point captioned “Back-way migrants urged to return, marry women” has produced an array of public reactions, both locally and internationally.
While condemnations of the views expressed by the tourism minister were not in short supply, others also saw the statement as positive reflection of what obtains in Gambian society today.
In the story, Minister Bah called on The Gambia’s backway migrants to return home and marry as many wives as they can in order to ease the burden of rising single women on Gambian society.
In a follow up interview with the BBC Focus on Africa programme aired on Monday, Mr Bah said that he was urging those who left the country that in case they want to marry, they should come back and marry their own Gambian women: “If they can afford to marry more than one, why not, they should marry more than one”
Bah said that when he mentioned that the religion preaches and teaches men to marry up to four women, “it was only fair that men who can afford to marry three to four wives should really do so because our women also have rights to a husband”.
Serious demographic issue
“This is comedic, and uncouth, in the way he [Hamat] expressed it, but it is a serious demographic issue,” Kebba Samateh, a Diaspora Gambian posted on his Facebook timeline.
“Hamat is clearly no sociologist! I wrote and talked about this issue on the radios, as the ‘Backway Syndrome’ issue escalated over the years into time bomb that is about to blow up! Who is going to marry all those eligible young women, when an estimated 4 out of 10 ( in some parts) young men are either stuck in asylum camps in Western Europe, dead, or in Libya, as a result of the ‘Backway Syndrome’?” Samateh argued.
“Honestly, Honourable Minister, I think you should have given our youth a better reason to return home. I expect you to tell them what awaits them if they return (jobs, trainings, etc.). Remember this young people risked a lot to reach their destination and most of them are breadwinners of their families,” said Lamin K. Saidy, an activist for the group Safe Hands for Girls.
Yacca Ceesay, a Gambian based in Italy, wrote: “Hi Honorable Minister, you are right but remember many boys are yet still in Gambia when they want to marry them (young women), it is so difficult. Can you ask them about that? Why do they want only the ones in Europe?”
Amadou Jallow, Tanji, said: “Mr. Bah, please tell your government to create job opportunities for the ones at home first to help them support their lone wives and forget about encouraging others to marry more wives when they cannot afford their daily basic needs. Therefore, leave those migrants in their peace of minds because they are there to fetch something better for their families.”
Ndey Sarr, French-Gambian activist, could not also hide her displeasure with Mr. Bah’s comments.
She said a French journalist asked her if there is men shortage in The Gambia. “Of course I told him no. If Hamat Bah’s government do not have plans for our country’s youths, let them be honest to say they don’t or if they are looking for a chance to encourage polygamy, let them say so.”
Be fair to the minister
Kejau Touray, another Diaspora Gambian in Sweden, said most [who have] taken offense at Hamat Bah’s statement have foreign wives and husbands.
“To be fair, Hamat Bah has a point with our male youths wasting in Europe and [going] after other women…who will marry our women? No wonder we have men shortage.”
Hamat also posted on his Facebook page yesterday morning, saying: “I call on all party members and sympathisers to be very open-minded with all criticisms and negative comments geared towards me because of the publication made on The Point newspaper. However, the beauty of democracy is to have different opinions.”
Author: Sanna Camara
http://thepoint.gm/africa/gambia/article/marry-more-womenpublic-reactshamat-clarifies |
| 1 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| toubab1020 |
Posted - 02 Jul 2018 : 12:53:20
Well someone has responded,OK Via The Point Newspaper in a GUEST editorial,wonder who the guest is? (we will never know,its political you see ! ) that has taken OVER a year to make SOME reply, progress is very slow here in Gambia, which let's be clear is a Male Dominated society.
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Friday, June 29, 2018
there is growing recognition of the untapped capacity and talents of women and women’s leadership. Over the last two decades, the rate of women’s representation in national parliaments globally has incrementally increased from 11.8 percent in 1998 to 17.8 percent in 2008 to 23.5 percent in 2018. Some regions have seen particularly dramatic increases, such as Sub-Saharan Africa, where in the last 20 years the number of women in parliaments has risen from 11 to 23.6 percent, and the Arab States region, which has seen an increase from 3.1 to 17.5 percent. Total global representation is still well below the 30 percent benchmark often identified as the necessary level of representation to achieve a “critical mass” – a considerable minority of all legislators with significant impact, rather than a token few individuals – not to mention falling short of women’s representation as half of the world’s population.
The full and equitable participation of women in public life is essential to building and sustaining strong, vibrant democracies.
Accordingly, the meaningful participation of women in national, local, and community leadership roles has become an important focus on global development policy. Still, some may ask why it matters if women become political leaders, elected policymakers, or civil society activists. Why does the world need more women involved in all aspects of the political process? Women’s political participation results in tangible gains for democracy, including greater responsiveness to citizen needs, increased cooperation across party and ethnic lines, and a more sustainable future.
Women’s participation in politics helps advance gender equality and affects both the range of policy issues that get considered and the types of solutions that are proposed. Research indicates that whether a legislator is male or female has a distinct impact on their policy priorities. There is also strong evidence that as more women are elected to office, there is a corollary increase in policy making that emphasizes quality of life and reflects the priorities of families, women, and ethnic and racial minorities.
In the words of the National Democratic Institute’s (NDI) Chairman Madeleine Albright, women in power “can be counted on to raise issues that others overlook, to support ideas that others oppose, and to seek an end to abuses that others accept.”
A Guest Editorial
http://thepoint.gm/africa/gambia/article/women-in-politics
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