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Musu Bakoto Sawo, a Gambian change agent and tireless advocate for women’s rights, became the winner of the 2020 Daily trust Africa of the Year Award.
A seven-member award selection committee chaired by the former President of Botswana, His Excellency Dr Festus Mogae, announced her the winner on January 4, 2020 after rigorous virtual selection meetings that began on December 10, 2020.
Musu, a 30-year-old lawyer, won the 2020 award for her continued commitment to end violence against girls and women, including child marriage and female genital mutilation. Married at 14 and widowed at 21 with no inheritance, Musu, who also suffered female genital mutilation as a child, was still striving for a quality education that catapulted her to her current position as a teacher of university, which is also striving to address the injustices women face daily across Africa.
She uses her experience in capacity building, research, networking, program development to engage with human rights mechanisms and local, national, regional and international organizations and platforms. “I say to the girls: get out there and be the change you can be because your children can be victims,” Musu says while explaining his motivation.
Musu began defending the rights of girls at the age of 9, particularly against child marriage, of which she was taken hostage 5 years later. She teaches at the Faculty of Law, University of The Gambia (in international human rights law).
National coordinator for Think about young women, she is the recipient of the Vera Chirwa 2017 Prize (from the Center for Human Rights, University of Pretoria. South Africa; recognized as one of the 100 most influential young people in West Africa by the Confederation of Young African People of West in 2018; and recipient of the “ Inspiring Gambian Award 2018 ” of the People’s Choice Award for Excellence in Gambia.
A key consideration for the selection of Musu Bakoto Sawo was that in this time of COVID-19, women have been particularly negatively affected, particularly during the lockdown when many husbands lost their jobs, resulting in violence among other trends. domestic at home. So, with Musu defending women’s rights in any part of Africa, which is largely a traditional society, she is seen as promoting a great cause and therefore deemed worthy of being selected for the award. (The award winner is available for interviews at: [email protected], Monday to Wednesday after 2:00 p.m. GMT and Thursday to Friday after 10:00 a.m. GMT).
The chairman of the selection committee, His Excellency Mogae, said that “Musu Bakoto deserves the award for his continued work to end violence against girls and women, including child marriage and female genital mutilation”. He congratulated her on having emerged a laureate of the prestigious Daily trust Africa of the Year Award for 2020.
About the Daily Trust African of the Year award
The African of the Year Award project was instituted in 2008 by Daily trust, one of Nigeria’s leading independent newspapers, in line with its commitment to African unity and sustainable development, to recognize and honor annually an exemplary African who has made extraordinary contributions to human development in any part of the continent and in any area of human effort. Africans who have distinguished themselves in their various backgrounds or who lead charitable projects that have a positive impact on the populations of the continent have since been recognized for this award.
Congolese doctor, Denis Mukwege is the first winner of the African prize of the year in 2008. Exactly 11 years after the Daily trust Recognition, Dr Mukwege won the Noble Peace Prize in 2018, for her wonderful work in dealing with women who had been abused and raped in her war-torn country.
The laureate is selected by a Pan-African committee of seven members chaired by His Excellency, Dr Mogae. The other members of the Advisory Board / Prize Committee are: Ambassador Ms. Mona Omar (North Africa), Ms. Gwen Lister (Southern Africa), Mr. Amadou Mahtar Ba (West Africa), Pastor Rigobert MINANI BIHUZO (Central Africa), and Mr. Kabiru Yusuf (West Africa).
The prize is accompanied by a cash prize of $ 10,000. The award ceremony will take place in March this year in Banjul, The Gambia.
Issued by:
Nura Daura, Ag. CEO, DAILY CONFIDENCE.
E-mail: [email protected]
Sunday January 17, 2021.
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