#president Adama Barrow

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Gambia's parliament of 58 lawmakers includes five women. If the bill eventually passes through parliament, President Adama Barrow is expected to sign it into law. He has not spoken publicly about the legislation."

Ladies, this is why "every vote counts" means everywhere elections are held. Vote more women into office

Lawmakers in Gambia have referred a repeal of the 2015 ban on female genital cutting for further committee discussions

By ABDOULIE JOHN Associated Press and JESSICA DONATI Associated Press

March 18, 2024, 8:49 AM

SERREKUNDA, Gambia -- Lawmakers in Gambia referred an attempted repeal of the 2015 ban on female genital cutting for further committee discussions on Monday.

Gambian activists fear a repeal would overturn years of work to better protect girls and women. The legislation was referred to a national committee for further debate and could return to a vote in the weeks and months ahead.

Activists in the largely Muslim country had warned that lifting the ban would hurt years of work against a procedure often performed on girls younger than 5 in the mistaken belief that it would control their sexuality.

The procedure, which also has been called female genital mutilation, includes the partial or full removal of external genitalia, often by traditional community practitioners with tools such as razor blades or at times by health workers. It can cause serious bleeding, death and childbirth complications but remains a widespread practice in parts of Africa.

Jaha Dukureh, the founder of Safe Hands for Girls, a local group that aims to end the practice, told The Associated Press she worried that other laws safeguarding women’s rights could be repealed next. Dukureh underwent the procedure and watched her sister bleed to death.

“If they succeed with this repeal, we know that they might come after the child marriage law and even the domestic violence law. This is not about religion but the cycle of controlling women and their bodies,” she said. The United Nations has estimated that more than half of women and girls ages 15 to 49 in Gambia have undergone the procedure.

The bill is backed by religious conservatives in the nation of less than 3 million people. Its text says that “it seeks to uphold religious purity and safeguard cultural norms and values." The country’s top Islamic body has called the practice “one of the virtues of Islam."

Gambia's former leader, Yahya Jammeh, banned the practice in 2015 in a surprise to activists and with no public explanation. Since the law took effect, enforcement has been weak, with only two cases prosecuted.

On Monday, a crowd of men and women gathered outside Gambia's parliament, some carrying signs protesting the bill. Police in riot gear held them back.

Gambia's parliament of 58 lawmakers includes five women. If the bill eventually passes through parliament, President Adama Barrow is expected to sign it into law. He has not spoken publicly about the legislation.

The United States has supported activists who are trying to stop the practice. Earlier this month, it honored Gambian activist Fatou Baldeh at the White House with an International Women of Courage Award.

The U.S. Embassy in Gambia declined to say whether any high-level U.S. official in Washington had reached out to Gambian leaders over the bill. In its emailed statement, Geeta Rao Gupta, the top U.S. envoy for global women's issues, called it “incredibly important” to listen to the voices of survivors like Baldeh.

The chairperson of the local Center for Women’s Rights and Leadership, Fatou Jagne Senghore said the bill is “aimed at curtailing women’s rights and reversing the little progress made in recent years.” The president of the local Female Lawyers Association, Anna Njie, said the practice “has been proven to cause harm through medical evidence.”

UNICEF said earlier this month that some 30 million women globally have undergone female genital cutting in the past eight years, most of them in Africa but some in Asia and the Middle East.

More than 80 countries have laws prohibiting the procedure or allowing it to be prosecuted, according to a World Bank study cited this year by a United Nations Population Fund Q&A published earlier this year. They include South Africa, Iran, India and Ethiopia.

“No religious text promotes or condones female genital mutilation,” the UNFPA report says, adding there is no benefit to it.

Girls are subjected to the procedure at ages ranging from infancy to adolescence. Long term, it can lead to urinary tract infections, menstrual problems, pain, decreased sexual satisfaction and childbirth complications as well as depression, low self-esteem and post-traumatic stress disorder.

[cyberbenb]

Ukraine and The Gambia revive diplomatic relations after 20-year pause

President Volodymyr Zelensky held his first conversation with Gambian leader Adama Barrow, marking a renewal of diplomatic relations after a 20-year pause. Zelensky thanked Barrow for The Gambia’s par Source : kyivindependent.com/ukraine-a…

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TRNC President Tatar welcomed and recognised at 15th OIC Summit

President Ersin Tatar is welcomed to the 15th OIC Summit by the President of Gambia. President Ersin Tatar, who is paying a visit to The Gambia to participate in the 15th Heads of State and Government Summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), was welcomed to the summit by the President of Gambia, Adama Barrow, at the entrance of the conference centre. Continue reading TRNC…

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64th Ordinary Summit of ECOWAS Applauds George Weah Conceding Defeat

….. President Barrow In Attendance By  Lamin Omarr President Adama Barrow was among other Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, attending the 64th Ordinary Summit of the regional body, where George Weah of Liberia was hailed by his colleagues for conceding defeat at the recent presidential election in his country, Liberia. . During the opening ceremony, the President of the Federal Republic of…

[crimechannels]

By • Olalekan Fagbade Gambia’s President Adama Barrow has suspended himself and all government officials from foreign travel to reduce public spending, a government spokesman announced Saturday. Barrow signed an executive order “suspending all overseas travels by the president, the vice-president, cabinet ministers, senior government officials, civil servants and employees across all government institutions and agencies,” for the rest of the fiscal year, presidential spokesman Ebrima Sankareh said in a statement. Meetings where Gambian participation is compulsory and foreign trips entirely financed by external sources will be exempt #foreigntrips #Gambia #GambianPresident #Govtofficials #publicspending #WestAfrica #Westaf

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Address to President Barrow On The Vital Link: Press Freedom and Democracy in The Gambia

Journalist and Broadcaster Pa Ousman Joof Mr President Adama Barrow, press freedom stands as a cornerstone of our democracy, serving as a vital tool in upholding transparency, accountability, and the free flow of information within our society. In The Gambia, a nation striving for progress and democratic values, the significance of press freedom cannot be overstated. We need to explore the…

[cryptosecrets]

UAE Leaders Congratulate President Of Gambia On Independence Day

Faizan Hashmi Published February 18, 2023 | 03:00 PM (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM – 18th Feb, 2023) ABU DHABI, 18th February, 2023 (WAM) – President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has sent a message of congratulations to President Adama Barrow of Gambia, on the occasion of his country’s Independence Day. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice…

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UAE Leaders Congratulate President Of Gambia On Independence Day

Faizan Hashmi Published February 18, 2023 | 03:00 PM (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM – 18th Feb, 2023) ABU DHABI, 18th February, 2023 (WAM) – President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has sent a message of congratulations to President Adama Barrow of Gambia, on the occasion of his country’s Independence Day. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice…

[lboogie1906]

Adama Barrow (February 15, 1965) is a Gambian politician and real estate developer who is the third and current President of the Gambia, in office since 2017. Born in Mankamang Kunda, a village near Basse Santa Su, he attended Crab Island Secondary School and the Muslim High School, the latter on a scholarship. He then worked for Alhagie Musa & Sons, a Gambian energy company, where he became a sales manager. Moving to London in the early 2000s, he studied for qualifications in real estate and concurrently worked as a security guard. After returning to the Gambia in 2006, he founded Majum Real Estate and was its CEO until 2016. He became the treasurer of the United Democratic Party, an opposition party, and then became its leader in September 2016 after the previous leader was jailed. He was then chosen as the UDP candidate in the 2016 presidential election. It was later announced that he would stand as an independent with the backing of the opposition group Coalition 2016. He won the 2016 presidential election with 43.34% of the vote, defeating long-time incumbent Yahya Jammeh. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence https://www.instagram.com/p/CortzVbrwgD/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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Gambia charged eight soldiers with treason and conspiracy on Friday for their role in a foiled coup last month, the government said in a statement. The government said on Dec. 21 that a group of soldiers had been arrested in connection with the coup attempt in the West African nation of 2.5 million people almost entirely surrounded by Senegal. “The Gambia government this afternoon charged eight soldiers of the Gambia Armed Forces with two counts of Treason and Felony Conspiracy to Commit Treason,” the statement said. One of the soldiers was still at large, while the rest were remanded in custody, it added. They pleaded not guilty to the first charge and did not enter a plea on the second charge, a government spokesman told Reuters. Two civilians and a police officer were also charged earlier this week with concealment of treason and conspiracy to commit a felony. Coup attempts are not uncommon in Gambia, which is still reeling from over two decades under former president Yahya Jammeh marked by authoritarianism and alleged abuses. Jammeh himself seized power in 1994 and foiled several attempts to overthrow him before he lost an election in late 2016 to Adama Barrow. The latest coup attempt was condemned by leaders of the West and Central Africa region amid wider concerns about the region’s stability. There has been no information on who was behind it or whether it was linked to the previous regime. West Africa has witnessed six successful military coups since 2020, marking a backslide of democracy in a region that had been seen to be making progress in shedding its “coup belt” moniker. Chad’s government on Thursday said its security forces had foiled an attempt by a group of army officers to destabilise the country, which is already under transitional rule.

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Vice President, Badara Joof Is Dead

Gambia‘s Vice President, Badara Joof, has been confirmed dead. His principal, President Adama Barrow, confirmed the sad development on Wednesday morning via his official Twitter handle, Naija News reports. It was reported that Joof passed away in India, where he was being treated for an illness not disclosed. President Barrow sympathized with all Gambians over the demise of his vice, praying to…

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Ersin Tatar’s condolences sent on the passing of Badara Alieu Joof

President Ersin Tatar expressed his sincerest condolences in his own name and on behalf of the Turkish Cypriot people to the President of the Republic of The Gambia Adama Barrow regarding the tragic passing of the Vice President of The Gambia Badara Alieu Joof. Continue reading Untitled

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Interpol Issues International Arrest Warrant For Gambian Coup Plotter - Official

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik – 18th January, 2023) Interpol has issued an international arrest warrant for Lamin Jadama, one of the participants in a failed coup attempt to oust Gambia’s President Adama Barrow in December 2022, government spokesperson Ebrima G. Sankareh said on Tuesday. “Following the recently foiled coup plot to overthrow the democratically elected Government of President…

[gamegill]

Interpol Issues International Arrest Warrant For Gambian Coup Plotter - Official

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik – 18th January, 2023) Interpol has issued an international arrest warrant for Lamin Jadama, one of the participants in a failed coup attempt to oust Gambia’s President Adama Barrow in December 2022, government spokesperson Ebrima G. Sankareh said on Tuesday. “Following the recently foiled coup plot to overthrow the democratically elected Government of President…

[zambianobserver]

Gambia: Three people charged over coup plot

Gambian police prosecutors have charged two civilians and a police officer in connection with last month’s alleged coup plot. Prosecutors accused the suspects of conspiring and failing to report information on the planned overthrow of President Adama Barrow in October and December 2022 within the capital, Banjul, and other places in the country. They were also accused of being informed by the…