Throughout the history of education in The Gambia, boys and girls have had unequal access to education.

But our able president, Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh, has put an end to this. The overall aim of the promotion of girls’ education is to provide equal opportunities and access for girls from an early age, enabling both girls and women to compete equally with boys and men towards the development of our country. As the saying goes, ‘if you educate a boy you educate an individual, but if you educate a girl you educate a whole nation.’

If we work hand in hand with our reputable president, who has done a great job in promoting girls’ education in this country, and also if other private companies can contribute in the promotion of girls’ education in The Gambia, we will all get to see the full potential of  women of the country.

Of course there are a handful of exemplary women to point at as at now - Vice President Aja Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy, Fatim Badjie-Janneh, Susan Wafa-Ogoo, Fatima Jabbie-Soley, Ann Therese Ndon -Jatta, the list goes on and on and on. These are all educated women who have contributed so much in the development of our country, and we as girls can look up to for inspiration.

It is incumbent upon society to ensure that every girl has not only the right but also the means to get an education to enable her realise her dreams, because an educated girl is more likely to become:

(1) A knowledgeable family planner,
(2) a more qualified mother, as she will have information about reproductive health,
(3) a productive and better paid worker,
(4) a well informed citizen,
(5) a skillful decision maker,
(6) a self-confident individual,
(7) more environmental friendly,
(8) a woman of success with knowledge of purpose in life and information to pursue her dreams and maintain a good character in life,
We can possibly attain our goals by pursuing the following strategies, for instance, in line with our already established promotion of girls’ education scheme.
(1) Policy development
(2) Community empowerment  radio will be instrumental in the form of
(3) talk shows - by giving educated teenage girls the opportunity to share with the public their experience.