By: Sarjo Brito
A war of words ensued between National Assembly Member Touma Njie and Gambia’s Vice President Dr. Isatou Touray following the stalling of the proposed Constitutional Amendment Bill seeking to give women sixteen seats in Parliament.
The Bill which failed to proceed to its third reading because of a lack of quorum angered the National Assembly Member for Banjul South, Touma Njie who wasted no time in accusing the Vice President and the Speaker of the National Assembly (both women) of refusing to throw their weight behind the Bill to see it come to fruition.
“My expectations, the Speaker being a female should have stood her ground to decide otherwise and give this an opportunity for it to be considered. We also saw the Vice President in the gallery when this was done. She is also a female but as I said, am beginning to believe now that we (women) are our worst enemies” – Touma Njie told reporters
The Vice President while outside offering words of encouragement to a group of women who were at the National Assembly premises to show their support to Touma’s Bill heard the Banjul South member of parliament repeat her statement to reporters. The VP quickly reacted and told her(Njie) to stop pushing such a narrative.
During the brief war of words, the country’s Vice President cautioned the women to not be used as tools to score political points by individuals.
Touma Njie whose Constitutional Amendment Bill was thrown out of Parliament for failing to meet the required threshold needed for voting to happen said she will not relent and is committed now more than ever to make sure the Bill comes back to Parliament.
The Banjul South National Assembly Member who is seeking re-election as an independent candidate told reporters she will not be intimidated and promised to not give up until Gambian women are fully represented in all works of life.
