By Alpha Daramy Sesay
Charge d’Affaires of the Irish embassy in Sierra Leone, Sinead Walsh, says women representation in public life is unequal to that of their men counterparts in Sierra Leone.
While making a statement on December 10 marking this year’s International Human Rights Day, she said she was concerned over the “discouraging” level of women representation in the recent elections “which saw more women registered to vote but only 15 percent were elected as Members of Parliament.”
She observed that there was “a drastic reduction in the number of women from the last parliament,” adding that “Bonthe, Koinadugu, Pujehum and the Western Rural have no women member of parliament.”
Walsh said that of the six mayors only one was a woman, with one of the thirteen district chairpersons being a woman. She went on that while 87 district councilors were women it compared to nothing when compared to the 369 who are men.
The reason for this inequality in public life, according to Walsh, could not be unconnected to the less than 10 percent of Sierra Leonean girls finishing school, while 50 percent being made pregnant or having a child before they reach 18 years.
“Women feel intimidated to engage in politics, due to some history of gender based-violence with regards politics,” she said.
In her key note address director for Sierra Leone association for the blind, Emma Parker, said that Article 21 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights provided for the rights of every citizen to take part in the governance of their country “either deliberately or through freely choosing their representatives”.
She said that everyone must be included and had the right to precipitate in public life and other decision-making processes in their lives.
“This breeds development and changes the lives of the vulnerable, marginalized and the poor,” she said.
Director of international and legal affairs division in the ministry of foreign affairs, Duwai Lungay said the ministry would support and cooperate with the human rights commission, civil society and other related agencies to help promote and advocate for the inclusion of every Sierra Leonean in the development process of the country.
