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Momodou
Denmark
11640 Posts |
 Posted - 16 Apr 2010 : 21:50:24
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Dailynews Editorial: The Women’s Bill 2010-Lessons to be Learnt
The Women’s bill has now been passed at the national assembly with relative ease. Events leading to this land mark legislation are now history. It however behoves on every Gambian to critically analyze the Social and legal ramifications of the Bill which becomes law as soon as it is assented to by the President. This is of course a fore gone conclusion if the remarks made by the President on the issue at the state opening of Parliament are anything to go by.
It is interesting to note that key players in this whole saga, the legislators and Religions leaders, capitulated after consultations, we are made to understand. We hope this was done in good faith without undue pressure. The lesson to be learnt here is that with dialogue the sky is the limit for any peaceful coexistence.
There should be no winners or loosers in this national endeavour. If the television footages shown on GRTS are anything to go by the battle lines are already being drawn. The coming into law of this piece of legislation must not be the be all and end all. This should rather be the beginning of a long process of peaceful coexistence in the light of this recent development. It is a fallacy to suggest that Gambian men are not considerate in their relationship with their women folk.
In moving the bill the Vice President described it as timely and relevant considering the fact that from time immemorial some Gambian women and girls have been victims of circumstances and had suffered innumerable forms of marginalization and abuse in society. “These unpleasant situations in which some women and girls are subjected to often disrupt their daily lines and equal opportunities to progress.” The lesson to be learnt from the Vice President’s assertion is that these violations against women’s rights are not across the board. The overwhelming majority of Gambian families have lived amicably together for centuries.
We however differ with the Vice President when she said, “the socio-economic upliftment of women therefore has negatively and significantly been affected for more than a century” as this is a blanket indictment of all Gambian men over the years who by implication are responsible for this. The peace and stability of our dear nation, which has become the envy of many has been nurtured thanks to those great men and women we inherited this country from.
We must not be carried away by modernization at the expense of our descent cultural values, particularly the sanctity of marriage. As indicated earlier in this editorial indications are that certain aspects of the bill are misconstrued. The law is not specifically directed at any particular group of people. Laws are meant to correct the ills of any society and in the process punish offenders. We must not take the law into our own hands or convict others even before they go to count.
The important role that men must have played in the run up to the realization of this land mark legislation cannot be over emphasized. The overwhelming majority of stakeholders involved in the consultations (The National Assembly, the Supreme Islamic Council and legal Practitioners) are men and so they must have had an impact on its realization. The spirit of dialogue that culminated into such a feat should not be lost as we see through its implementation.
We at the daily news are convinced that the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) at the Attorney Generals Chamber, whose mandate among others is to reduce the number of cases that are dragged to the courts, will play a leading role in this regard. As society begins with the family any disintegration of the latter will undoubtedly have a devastating effect on society. There are indeed lessons to be learnt from this bill.
Source: Dailynews
Related Topic: WOMEN’S BILL 2010 PASSED
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