A three-day sub-regional seminar for the adoption of an advocacy strategy on women’s rights opened yesterday at the Paradise Suites Hotel, Kololi.

The ECOWAS Gender Development Centre in collaboration with the Women’s Bureau organized the programme.

In officially declaring the forum open, on behalf of the Vice President and Secretary of State for Women’s Affairs Dr Aja Isatou Njie Saidy, the Trade Secretary of State Abdou Colley said there cannot be any meaningful development in West Africa, or elsewhere in the world, if women continue to be systematically excluded from the development process.

He expressed the need to review the land tenure system to enable women have ownership of lands for their livelihood.

He said that in The Gambia significant progress has so far been made with regard to the promotion of the rights and welfare of women.

For her part, honorable justice Aminata Malle Sanogo, President ECOWAS Court of Justice, argued that despite progress made a wide gap still remains to be bridged before women can attain equality and thereby have rights practically put into effect in all endeavors of life.

On politics she said the representation of women is still very low despite a slight improvement in few countries.

On the economic front she said the economic status of women still remains very weak.

In the terms of law she stressed that women are victims of domestic violence, degrading customary practices forced marriage and sexual harassment, on a daily basis.

Speaking earlier Mrs. Aminata Dibba Director ECOWAS Gender Development Centre said that positive commitments have been made at the continental level with a view to enabling women to play their rightful role in the development process. “Despite these commitments gender disparities are still in existence and there are constraints in terms of implementation” she said.

The ceremony attended by the Honorable Chief Justice of the Gambia Abdou Karim Savage and was chaired by the Solicitor General Dr Henry Carrol.