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Tuesday
Mar 09th

Gambian vice president calls for action on women empowerment

Dakar, Senegal - Gambian Vice President, Isatou Njie-Saidy, on Thursday called for concerted action towards reaching the goals of women empowerment and gender equality in Africa, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) said in a statement received by PANA in Dakar.

Mrs Njie-Saidy was addressing the Sixth African Development Forum (ADF VI) currently underway in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as a special guest.

"What is required now is action," she told the approximately 800 participants in the packed main conference room of ECA headquarters in the Ethiopian capital.

"Women out there are waiting," the Gambian Vice-President said, adding, "they have waited for too long and we cannot fail them!"

Mrs Njie-Saidy stressed the importance of including men in the on-going battle for ensuring women's rights in Africa.

"We cannot address the issue of women without addressing men otherwise we will be marginalized and we will fail," she said.

"We have to look at both sides of the coin to be fair. We must also remember that, as we point a finger at the men, three fingers are pointing back at us."
 
Dakar - 20/11/2008

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