By: Mustapha Njie – TAF
On this International Women’s Day, 8th March 2026, I write to celebrate you, not only as The Gambia’s best-known playwright and theatre director, newly inducted into The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Stage Directors, but as our distinguished celebrant today, and as someone who has become family to me.
As the founder of Ebunjan Theatre, you have given The Gambia a voice on the global stage. Through your powerful plays, The Ultimate Inheritance, Chains of Inspiration, The Battle of Sankandi, and many others, you have educated generations, challenged societal norms, and preserved our history in ways that textbooks never could. As a woman in leadership, you have broken barriers and paved the way for countless young Gambian women to find their voices, both on stage and beyond. You returned home after years of international service with the United Nations, not to rest, but to build, establishing The Gambia’s first professional theatre company and nurturing young talents who now carry your torch.
To be featured in a Cambridge Encyclopedia is no small feat. It places you among the world’s most distinguished stage directors, a recognition long overdue but perfectly deserved. Yet for all the international acclaim, you remain simply “Aunty Janet” to me.
I will never forget the privilege of building your dream home here in The Gambia. That project was meant to be a professional undertaking, but it became the foundation of something far more precious. Since the construction of that house, what has grown between us is a bond I could never have anticipated. You became my dearest aunt, and to this day, your home remains one of my favourite places to be, not only for the wonderful food you always insist on feeding me, but for the laughter. Oh, the laughter! The stories, the teasing, the warmth that fills every corner of that house you so lovingly built.
This is the Janet Badjan Young I know: a national treasure who still finds time to cook for those she loves; a theatre legend whose greatest joy is making people laugh around her own dining table and in the auditorium. This is the woman we celebrate today, a #woman whose life embodies the very essence of International Women’s Day: strength, creativity, resilience, and the nurturing of generations to come.
On this day dedicated to the achievements of women everywhere, The Gambia stands proud of you. But I am personally grateful for you. Your #legacy is etched not only in the pages of that Cambridge Encyclopedia but in every theatre seat filled, every curtain raised, every young girl who dares to dream of the stage because you showed her it was possible, and in the heart of this proud Gambian who gets to call you Aunty.
May the Almighty grant you continued good health, strength, and many more years to create, to laugh, and to grace our lives with your presence. May you live long to see generations yet unborn benefit from the foundation you have laid for Gambian theatre. May your light continue to shine as a beacon for every woman and girl who dreams of leaving her mark on this world.
Kusseh. Jerreh Jeff. Jaraama. Abarka.
With all my love, deepest admiration, and gratitude for the woman you are,
A Proud Gambian Who Is Blessed to Call You Family
Happy International Women’s Day, Aunty Janet!
