By Saio Marrah
The women’s rights campaign group, Feminist United Sierra Leone and Allies, on Saturday 5th December, held a roundtable discussion, dubbed Dialogue on Feminism Agenda in Sierra Leone.
Feminist United and Allies is a social movement of Young Africans that seeks to challenge the great imbalance of the status quo of societies. It preaches equality of both sexes in terms of the enjoyment of opportunities and rights.
The event which took place at the Africell American Corner, at Bathurst Street in Freetown, was geared towards popularizing the practice of feminism conversation and bringing a clear understanding of what the idea is and the reason to practice it.
According to the Founder and Leader of the group, Theriyeh Koroma, the movement includes men, noting that men can also be feminists and that with a committed partnership with men the movement can easily achieve its goals.
“The background of Feminist United Sierra Leone and Allies is a social movement of young Africans who’ve come together, who’ve recognized the great imbalance with the status quo in our societies specifically in Sierra Leone and we’ve come together seeking to change it, believing that it’s possible with committed partnership with men,” she said in a statement delivered at the event.
She went on: “So we have men too because we believe that men can be feminists. It’s a young organization, basically we’re complementing efforts of other organizations who have been spreading the awareness about the necessity of the feminism ideology and why we need equality, why we need to guarantee equal opportunity and equal rights.”
According to Koroma, her organization has been promoting feminism in Sierra Leone through media sensitization. She noted that this is because many people misunderstood the concept of feminism to be one that is about challenging the superiority of men unjustly, whiles others are with the view that feminism is about hate for men and are of those that do not want to get married or even give birth.
“In fact, for those who purport that feminists are asking for female superiority, that notion in itself contradicts the very purpose of feminism because feminism is there to ensure that everybody has equal rights and opportunities like we are on the same scale,” she said.
The keynote speaker of the event was Dr. Claudine Higston, a gender expert and scholar, who chaired a session: ‘Unpacking Feminism and the Feminism Agenda in Sierra Leone.’ This session, one of three that characterized the event, delved into what feminism means as a concept and how it can challenge patriarchy and bring change in homes, work places, and communities. The session was a knowledge sharing and learning experience. Participants shared what feminism means to them and what inspired them to be feminists.
The participants also talked about the importance of feminism to achieving truly equal society and making Sierra Leone a nation where women are partners in development.
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