GAMCOTRAP Empower Womens to Speak for Themselves

NEWS BANJUL THE GAMBIA (MB)- “Women are generally homogenous though wrongly considered to be. Therefore, many institutions tend to address their concerns only under broad development categories without taking and recognising their agency as individuals in their own rights. There are many advocates for women, women and men but in GAMCOTRAP, we empower women to speak for themselves, because the issue we address affect them emotionally and physically, affecting their bodily integrity which is a very intimate and private aspect of sexuality. 

Therefore, our work in communities is to support women to discover themselves and take leadership. We do this through different strategies, GAMCOTRAP’s Executive Director highlighted at the recent official opening of the office headquarters. 

  The new building according to Dr. Isatou Touray is meant for Training, Research, Consultancy, awareness creation, consciousness raising and helping them to develop their capacity to “say no to violence and abuse”. 

 GAMCOTRAP she said needs an institution of its own to move the agenda of women since they constitute 50% of the population, they have competence skills and knowledge to give, to share and to demonstrate within the boarder development framework. It is also about women having the opportunity to manifest their skills that they can make a difference and also add value to national development initiatives, she said. 

 She tasked men to join them in their struggle since they have few men enlisted for the past 20-25 years adding that one does not have to be a woman in order to become a women’s right activist, “men can also be one”. 

 “For the past 20-25 years, we were housed by great man by the name Alh. Sidiky Jawara, who despite all efforts resistance believed in our works and kept us in the safe heavens of his building without a single problem”, she added. 

 The achievement of the building she stressed came in no  easy term as their was no single funding solicited for the construction, “ and from our experience, many donors would not invest in sustainability for organisations. 

 "We knew that there was a tremendous sacrifice from a people so committed to see it through”. The building as she put it, signifies just one among the many achievements as more developments are in the pipeline that Gambian women and men will benefit from. “People come and go, but institutions remain, and it is what we do in these institution and the principles we uphold, that lives after us," she remarked. 

 GAMCOTRAP, a women’s right organisation is proud to leave a heritage and legacy for this generation and the generation yet unborn to continue advancing the cause of women and children against all form of gender based violence and promote women’s human rights, childrens right and the vulnerable groups, she declared.