THE REPUBLIC OF THE GAMBIA’S COMBINED REPORT ON THE AFRICAN CHARTER ON HUMAN & PEOPLES’ RIGHTS & INITIAL REPORT ON THE PROTOCOL TO THE AFRICAN CHARTER ON THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN IN AFRICA Elected Female Councillors (Council Elections) YEAR NO. PERCENTAGE 2008 14 12.28% 2013 10 8.77% 2018 8 6.67 The picture is much better in the Judiciary and legal sector, where out of a total of 20 Judges, there are currently 10 female judges in the Superior courts of The Gambia, with one sitting in the Supreme Court and one serving as President of the Court of Appeal. In the subordinate courts, 22 out of the total of 42 Magistrates are women. For the first time in the history of the legal profession in The Gambia, both the current President and Vice president of The Gambia Bar Association are women. Constraints Despite the considerable progress made, The Gambia is yet to attain the requisite 30% representation at all levels of Government. The target had been attained at the level of cabinet positions in the past but there has been a backward slide. Further, the representation at the National Assembly and Local Government remains below the minimum required. There is need to encourage more women to assume top managerial positions and other decision-making roles in the interest of empowering them. Although there was a clamour for affirmative action for women in governance, the Women’s Act did not adequately address this concern. However, with the current constitutional review process in The Gambia, it provides an opportunity to improve on the representation of women in governance positions. The trend of excluding females from decision-making positions is largely a reflection of the cultural perception of the status of women in Gambian society. In order to enhance the participation women in the socio-political and economic life of the country, there is a need to change the mind-set of people through 131