By Chernor Alimamy Kamara
Sierra Leone’s First Lady joined other women and dignitaries in Kono to celebrate International Women’s Day with the theme: ‘’Gender Equality today for a Sustainable Tomorrow’’ #Breaking the Bias”.
First Lady Madam Fatima Bio said Sierra Leone was joining the rest of the world in celebrating the sacrifices, bravery, and resilience of women in the country and the world in general.
She said the Hands off Our Girls Campaign, Government’s Free Quality Education Programme, and the introduction of the Gender Empowerment Bill have contributed to creating more voice and space for women and girls in Sierra Leone. She said the bill if passed by parliament would empower more women to be involved in the governance of the country and invariably lead to more development.
She appealed to the current members of parliament and political parties to give their support to the finalization of the said bill. She allayed fears that the bill is a trap to unseat men from political positions, and said it would instead empower women to reach the mainstream of society.
She thanked the Mayor of Kono for supporting worthy causes that involve women in the district.
She stated the day is a reminder to the world of the special and enviable place of women and to re-echo the need for gender parity.
Madam Bio noted that it is an open secret in Sierra Leone that there are strong and brave women who have stood the test of time amid the challenging forces of male society, to strategically position and develop themselves and immensely contribute to the development of not only Sierra Leone, but the world at large
‘’On a day like this we should be proud of women and we should be able to celebrate President Bio for giving women a platform and for choosing them as partners in development and supporting them to champion women issues in the country,” the first lady stated.
The Executive Director of NMJD, Abu Brima at the event shared insights on NMJD’s programmes over the years that addressed issues of women. He assured of his organization’s continued support to empower women.
This year’s celebration attracted women groups from across the 14 chiefdoms of Kono and other development actors in the district.
The celebration jointly marked the inauguration of 5 Executive members of the Kono Women’s Network (KoWoNet) and the formal launching of the Women in Development Sierra Leone (WIND-SL) non-governmental organization.
Copyright © 2022 Politico Online (09/03/22)
