GAMWRITERS

Gambian Women: Profiles and Historical Notes authored by Hassoum Ceesay has got a raving review by Dr Toby Green in the October 2011 issue of the highly respected academic journal of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) of the University of London. The book published in May 2011 by Fulladu publishers of Kanifing seeks to highlight the role of women in the social and economic development of Bathurst (Banjul) in the middle decades of colonial rule, and also profiles the careers of achieving Gambian women. It is a follow up to his earlier book Gambian Women: An Introductory History (2007)

Dr Toby Green is a  Leverhulme Early Career Fellow of the Departments of History and Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies, of  King's College University of London.

In the review Dr Green asserts that the role of women in Gambian society has received less attention, making Hassoum’s book  ‘a welcome addition to the literature’ of gendered relations in shaping pre-colonial and colonial societies. Dr. Green added that Hassoum has ‘a deep knowledge of Gambian history’ and has chosen to specialise in redressing the imbalance connected to gender roles in The Gambia.

The SOAS Bulletin published by Cambridge University Press is the leading interdisciplinary academic journal on Asian, Middle East and African issues and has been an outlet for research on Asia and Africa since the 1930s.

Excerpt of Dr Toby Green's review