By Hajaratu Kalokoh
A cross section of women and girls have held a dialogue session on their leadership journey. The dialogue was held as part of the commemoration of International Women’s Day (IWD) which was marked on Sunday, March 8th.
The program, which was held on at the Brookfields Hotel in Freetown, was facilitated by Campaign for Good Governance (CGG) and Civicus, and it was aimed at inspiring women and girls through leadership experiences from prominent women.
The dialogue was based on generational experiences. Eight women, ages ranging from 10 to 80 years, formed a panel in the four-hour long discussion.
The theme of the discussion was: “Generational Discourse on Leadership. Women’s Triumph.”
Acting Program Director at CGG, Bernadette French, explained to Politico after the program that the focus of the initiative was to help women and girls learn from the experiences they had gone through in attaining leadership.
“We want to bring women together to have a conversation around the struggles of women throughout the ages; their experience with leadership in terms of how they were able to navigate the huddles along the way,’’ she said, adding: “The program focused mainly on young women so we see this as a platform for upcoming leaders to learn from those that have joined or who have been part of the struggle throughout the ages.’’
Engineer Glenna Macauley, a female Auto Engineer who served as the keynote speaker, encouraged women to pursue their dreams despite the challenges.
“I have no formal education, so I was underestimated by my father. To learn this profession is challenging. Sometimes I wanted to give up, but my mum encouraged me not to,’’ she said, adding:
“I have gained financial independence through this job. I want to tell my fellow women not to give up on what God has destined them to be.’’
Mariatu Kabba, Radio Mentor at BBC Media Action, explained to Politico after the program that bringing women to have a dialogue is a good initiative.
“There is a big gap in society, whereas some of us, the younger girls coming up, normally ask the question - how did these women become great women, hearing all of those stories made me believe that I am not alone, our stories are almost the same. I feel I am on the rights path. It is inspiring and it is a steppingstone for me to do more; for me to be strong and continue doing what I am doing,’’ she said.
International Women’s Day is an annual celebration which is done every 8th of March around the globe. It offers a platform to discuss and assess women’s rights and other issues.
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