Fearless Banjul Mayor Rohey Malick Lowe late Saturday advised any Gambian woman against venturing into politics if she feels scared of being called names.
Hundreds of Gambian on Saturday gathered at Kotu for the annual general meeting of Refela Gambia chapter. Refela is a project being implemented in several African countries meant to empower women.
The mayor said: “If you enter into politics, they will reside you everywhere but I want to ask you not to be afraid and scared. What’s trending now is ‘the prostitute, the witch, the drug dealer, the bastard’. But it’s not moved me. It has not stopped me from being Mayor.
“But if a man wears her (Rohey Lowe’s) t-shirt, stand behind her and clapping and dancing for her but [on the whole] trying to pull her down. If we do not change our attitude, we will not move forward. So let’s change our attitude so we can help our families.
“But a woman who is scared of being called ‘prostitude’, [my advice is] do not enter into politics. A woman that’s scared of being called drug dealer, do not enter into politics. But a woman who’s scared of being called witch, do not enter into politics.”
Elsewhere in her statement, the mayor asked Gambian women to be however bold and take their place alongside men.
The mayor said: “I want to ask Gambian women to come out and enter into politics. Don’t allow anyone to frighten you, don’t allow anyone to relegate you. I always take myself as a example because they say who feels it knows it and experience is the best teacher. When I was standing for elections, I used to ask women to get up and start selling fish and oil.
“They used to laugh but what I was asking them to do was what I was doing. But where is Refela today? They have implemented a pilot project. They are taking fish and oil to Senegal selling it there, now they are building their houses. So then what is wrong with selling oil and fish?”
