By Mabinty M. Kamara
Gender Equality and Women's participation in governance has become a widely discussed issue across the board. When Heads of State meet at regional, local, and global levels, they hardly discuss the issue of equality, as a fundamental consideration, despite the societal definition of sex roles which continues to place one of the sexes at a disadvantaged position.
These actions were borne out of the realization of the critical role of women who have been the isolated and deprived sex in all spheres of life including nation-building.
Women according to Statistic Times.com are estimated at 3,904,727,342 or 3,905 million or 3.905 billion as of 2021, representing 49.58% of the world’s population. In Africa, women account for 50% of the estimated total population of 723 828 065 yet, they especially in Africa continue to lag behind their male counterparts in all spheres of life mostly due to societal norms. This is a major contribution to the state of Africa in terms of development because a huge number of the population are underdeveloped and hence are dependent.
Different actors across the board continue to play their parts in ensuring gender equity for a developed society with all hands on deck.
One such route has been through promoting women's participation in governance- something that has met stiff resistance from many due to both internal and external factors such as confidence, illiteracy, acceptance, and male chauvinism among others.
Democratic elections are the main conduit to participation in governance in many countries across the globe and in particular Africa for which our nation, Sierra Leone is not an exception.
This means that for one to participate in many aspects of governance, especially in the legislative and executive arms, elections are critical.
A process that is accompanied by many challenges for especially women, whose capabilities and competence are mostly not tested but rather their sex, facial expressions, physical appearances, dress code, sex roles, economic position, and sexual relationships among others, are usually brought to the fore for public scrutiny. This is a major factor that has held women back not just from participating in governance but in public life.
The just concluded general elections in Sierra Leone West Africa brought the highlighted issues to the fore. The process was flawed by personality attacks on women candidates and other women who served as major stakeholders in the process. Cyberbullying, physical violence, attacks, and in some instances, death threats became the fate of women front liners in the elections.
The milestone
Despite the negatives, this year's elections brought hope in realizing increased women's participation in governance.
In the run-up to the elections, a gender quota Act dubbed GEWE (Gender Equality and Women Empowerment) was intended to promote women's empowerment and participation in governance. Part ii of the Act specifically deals with reserved seats for aspiring women both in the local council and the legislature and appointment into public office.
“(1) There shall be, in public elections, the following reserved seats-(a) 30% constituency seat in each district, specified in the First Schedule, shall be reserved exclusively for female candidates contesting parliamentary election; (b) 30% ward seat reserved in each locality, specified in the Second Schedule, shall be reserved exclusively for female candidates contesting local council election,” the Act reads in part.
This to many including women was a farfetched dream in a patriarchal society where our male counterparts have for so long enjoyed being in charge and taking such critical seats to make decisions on our behalf. Some thought 30 percent was a high bar to demand after the call for 50/50 almost collapsed.
It was indeed a challenging bill to pass in a male-dominated parliament. However, after 13 months of advocacy, debates, bashing, and lobbying, the Act was passed into law and subsequently received the much-awaited presidential assent. This was preceded by the Public Election Act which guaranteed the use of the District Block Proportional Representation System demanding that on the list of every political party, there must be a woman for every three candidates presented.
A total of 41 women including a former female journalist made it to the House of Parliament accounting for 30.4% of the total of 132 seats with the All Peoples Congress (APC) party accounting for 15 and the Sierra Leone Peoples Party 25.
The sixth parliament will play host to the largest female caucus in the history of Sierra Leone. For us at Women in the Media Sierra Leone, this is a success indicating that our efforts to shine a light on women's issues across the country are paying off.
The Freetown municipality continues to be led by a female mayor who was re-elected defeating a male contender. This milestone in Sierra Leone indicates a brighter future for women.
The bottled neck:
In Sierra Leone, the milestone has however been impeded by the main opposition party’s decision to boycott all aspects of governance after the just concluded elections, citing electoral irregularities. This decision has not only undermined the important role of the opposition in democracy, but it has equally undermined the efforts to see more women in governance. Up to the time of this publication the Mayor of Freetown, Yvonne Aki-Sawyer and all other elected female members of parliament and local council are yet to take up office. Thanks to mediation efforts by the Economic Community for West Africa States, African Union, Commonwealth and Sierra Leone's Peace Commission to end the impasse for an effective and participatory democracy to thrive in the wake of a tense political atmosphere exacerbated by regional and tribal divides.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (25/09/23)
