By Buba Gagigo in Daejeon, South Korea
Mayor of Banjul, Rohey Malick Lowe said ‘Feminism Municipalism’ can form a strong alliance that would put forward a new way of understanding and governing cities and territories, based on solidarity and empathy.
“I understand this transformation needs to be a collective effort to bring about a renewed social contract, which puts people’s needs, voices and aspirations at the centre of the political agenda,” she said at the United Cities and Local Governments(UCLG) World Congress in Daejeon, South Korea on Wednesday.
The Banjul Mayor encouraged women to embrace the new concept.
“I do believe women must be the first to embrace this concept. Everyone would like to live in a city where they place people’s health and safety at the heart of decision-making, and emphasis the value of paid and unpaid care work for all. In fact, it is not only important but necessary to create cities that take care of its inhabitants, their surroundings, and make people support one another,” she added.
Mayor Lowe said women experience city life differently from men, because established norms and traditions have given them different roles and responsibilities.
“…It is therefore time for cities to give women a far bigger role, and for women to take their rightful place as equal citizens. Our cities must now diversify, and adapt to modern lifestyles, support the changes needed to achieve gender equality at each stage of life,” she said.
The Feminist Municipal Movement is based on three Central Pillars- the institutional framework; women leaders as key actors in the process; and the innovation agendas inspired by their efforts.
The Mayor of Banjul, also the president of REFELA Africa (the Network of Local Women Elected in Africa) currently attending the occasion in Daejeon, South Korea delivered her first session address on Tuesday.
The session, dubbed ‘Local4Action’, scheduled to end on 14th October, is being attended by the President of UCLG Africa, Hon. Ms Fatimetou Mint Abdel Malick; Mayor of Miami-Dade, Florida, among others.