communities, which, while sometimes beneting the women concerned, more usually results in emotional and ancial hardship. For more on traditional practices, see pp.280�90.All these issues are complex and sensitive and it perhaps wrong to make assumptions about Gambian women own perceptions of their status and rights, or to attempt to raise them in casual conversation.B A S ICS| Crime and personal safetyCrime and personal safetyIt easy to exaggerate the potential hassles and disasters of travel in The Gambia. Many visitors feel safer in The Gambia (which has the lowest crime rate in sub-Saharan Africa) than in their home country. True, there are a few urban locations, easily enough pinpointed, where snatch robberies and muggings occur from time to time. But most of the country carries minimal risk to personal safety compared with Europe and North America. The main problems are sneak thieving, umstering�(see box on p.53) and corrupt people in uniforms. The st can be avoided; the second is more an irritation than a danger, and dealing with the third can become a game once you know the rules.Obviously, if you unt the trappings of wealth where there urban poverty, somebody may want to remove them. There always less risk in leaving your valuables in a securely locked hotel room or, judiciously, with the management. If you clearly have nothing on you (this means not wearing expensive-looking jewellery or wristwatches), youe unlikely to be threatened. On arrival in The Gambia, it wise to be cautious at st. It important to distinguish harmlessly robust, up-front interaction from more sinister preludes that might lead to you being umstered� In the resort areas, scams include people spinning you a hard-luck story in order to cadge money. Don feel unnecessarily victimized, but be rationally suspicious of everyone until youe more conent. Lastly, remember that impoverished fellow travellers are as likely �or unlikely �to rip you off as anyone else. Apart from the standard of driving, Gambian public transport is fairly safe �The Gambia has none of the banditry that makes some parts of the developing world hazardous to travellers.TheftHotel room burglaries, car break-ins and muggings do occur, but theye rare, and vary with the seasons: the rainy season and the weeks before major festivals, when people need cash, are the most likely times for opportunistic thieving. If you shout hief!� be swift to intercede once youe retrieved your belongings: robbers and pickpockets caught red-handed are usually dealt with summarily by bystanders, who generally assume the culprit is a foreigner who deserves swift punishment. Pickpocketing can happen anywhere �usually the work of kids hanging around in markets, ferry terminals, or other crowded places. Make sure your valuables are secure. More serious attacks are rare, but sometimes take place in speci areas of Kombo district. Black spots change regularly so listen to local advice. The least threatening districts include bush taxi garages (full of tough young transport workers on the lookout for threats to their passengers) and, surprisingly perhaps, the lower income suburbs and slums where people aren used to travellers.77
