Makutu Manneh
Minister of Youth and Sports Bakary Badjie said Friday his Ministry is committed to working with civil society organizations to promoting the rights of young people and women as well as ensuring issues affecting women are brought to the fore.
Badjie made this statement during a sensitization meeting on the Maputo Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa organized by the Inter African Network on Women, Gender, Media and Development in Africa (FAMEDEV) in collaboration with the Banjul Municipal Youth Committee, an affiliate of the National Youth Council.
Badjie, who was addressing the youth of Banjul during a ceremony held at the Maccarthy Square in Banjul, urged young people to partake in the fight for the advancement of women’s rights in The Gambia. He said in joining the struggle for the advancement of women’s rights, young people should familiarize themselves with the Maputo Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, the Women’s Act as well as other human rights instruments on the rights of women.
“As young people, we have an important role to play in this exercise and it is our responsibility to change the situation of women in the country,” he said.
He said young people of the Gambia should become ambassadors in fighting for women’s rights and for the recognition of the rights that Gambia and other African countries ratified as enshrined in the Maputo Protocol on the Rights of Women.
Badjie advised the participants to disseminate the information gathered during the meeting to their respective communities as that is one of the ways they can raise public awareness on the Maputo Protocol. He further advised them to read and understand human rights instruments on the rights of women since that will help them in their advocacy.
