By Nasratu Kargbo
In an effort to bridge the gender divide in governance, the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs has developed a bill proposing 30% elective positions for women through reserved seat mechanisms.
The Bill, according to the Minister of Gender and Children Affairs Manty Tarawalli has already got cabinet and Presidential approval and that she has been authorized to lay the document before parliament for enactment into law. She added that despite efforts made gender equality remains a challenge.
She explained that the bill has four key provisions amongst which are the 30% reserved seats for women parliamentarians but which does not include chieftaincy seats. The minister explained that the non-chieftaincy seats in parliament are 132 and that 30% of that figure would account for 40 women parliamentary seats. The same 30% of ward seats would mean 135 women representation from the 446 council positions nationwide.
She added that the bill directs the National Electoral Commission (NEC) to consult with the Political Parties Registration Commission (PPRC), political parties and civil society representatives to develop the procedures that would determine which seats will be reserved for aspiring women in a district.
The bill emphasizes gender main streaming through the promotion of gender equality in the work place. This she said could be achieved through job promotion, training and employment.
The bill also proposes a minimum 30% for each gender in appointive positions which includes commissioners, ambassadors and ministers.
In addition, it also proposes to improve access to finance for women and direct the Bank of Sierra Leone and the Ministry of Finance together with other relevant institutions to develop appropriate procedures to ensure this provision for women.
The minister added that they have consulted legal experts and have been told that they have not violated the constitution saying section 38 of the constitution gives NEC the power to conduct election for one Member of Parliament for each constituency and cited section 58 of the Public Elections Act of 2012 which reiterates the same.
Trawalli explained that her ministry conducted a survey to understand the issues and challenges more deeply since women make up 52% of Sierra Leone’s population. She said 17% are gainfully employed whiles 75% are engaged in the informal sector like petty trading.
She added that there are currently 17 women out of 132 non- chieftaincy seats in parliament, and that on the local council level, female representation is 97 out of 549. She said there are three women council chairpersons and mayors. She further explained that Sierra Leone has a low gender inequality index value of 0.64 ranking. The country was rated 153 out of 162 in the 2018 index, clearly exposing the gender inequality gap.
According to the minister, the bill which is now a government document will be gazetted and laid in the well of parliament.
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