Wednesday 8th March 2023 was observed as International Women’s Day. In light of global recognition of such an all-important day, Politico Reporter Nasratu Kargbo engaged Dr. Fredline M’Cormack-Hale-President of 50/50 Group, Sierra Leone’s foremost advocacy entity for gender equality and women’s empowerment. Dr. M’Cormack-Hale shares her thoughts on the general status of women in Sierra Leone.
Politico: What’s your opinion about the status of women in politics in Sierra Leone?
Dr. M’Cormack-Hale: Women in Sierra Leone, unfortunately, we are well behind parity. We have about 12% of women in politics, it has stayed constant since the last election. We were at 12% although more women came in, we stayed the same in terms of percentage. We have long been asking for a minimum of 30%, since 2006 and we have not been able to get it. We’ve been asking for a quota, we’ve been asking for safe seats, so it’s been a long-time woman have been trying to increase their representation. However, there are three new laws, the Public Elections Act (PEA), the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE), and the Political Parties Act (PPA) Act, those two talk specifically about giving space to women, and GEWE talks about following the PEA.
We are pleased that there are now laws in place, so we’re happy to see that; however we would like to see more, the PEA says one in three nominations should be a woman, whilst the Political Parties Act says that at least 30% of women should be nominated in each district. So, it’s a step forward, but a nomination is not necessarily equal to an election, so we have noted that if we do not have women on top of the list when it comes to nominations, either first place or minimum second place if we do not have that then women will not get the 30% that we’ve been campaigning for.
A second issue is we still have our constitution, we would like to have some amendments made in the constitution, because the way the constitution is, section 27 (d) and (e) basically allows for discrimination on the basis of custom and tradition, we need to expunge that or revise so that women will have the ability to have safe seat for example. The constitution does not allow for positive discrimination, the constitution talks about equality, it assumes that there is a level playing field and we know that the playing field is not level, so we need to take affirmative action so that women will be actually given what they need.
Politico: Safe seat was what most people wanted, that part has been expunged in the bill, how did you feel about it?
Dr. M’Cormak-Hale: We felt sad, we felt disappointed and that’s not to say we are not pleased with the bill, but we believe that there’s so much more that could be done and needs to be done.
Another component is the seat of executive appointment, right now the president may make 30% of executive appointments be women, but it will be great if that could actually be mandated and if we would be able to follow up on this. Also, make sure that parties have women in their executive positions, we know that at least two parties had held conventions, and we do not have women in leadership posts in these parties. Firstly, we do not have 30% and where we have women, it’s in positions like financial secretary or treasurer. How about having a woman as the chairperson or having women in key top positions? This is something we would like to see.
Politico: With the introduction of the Proportional Representation (PR) System, do you think we would have more women representation or not?
Dr. M’Cormack –Hale: You need to make sure you have women at the top of the list. Let me give you an example, in a district where you have four seats allocated, if you put a woman at the third position of the list, that means you would have three men and one woman. But, if you put women in first place, you’ll end up having two women.
For five seats, if you can put her in the first or second positions, you can still get at least two women, so in a district where you have four seats and put a woman in the third position, definitely you will only have one woman out of the four.
The only way we can have more women and get the 30% that we are calling for is for women to be higher on the list, and we are asking that women be placed first on the list.
So, the point is the only way that we’re going to get women for 30%, is by putting women first; especially where you have few seats like four or three seats, the fewer the number of seats in the district, the more important it is that we make sure that women are on top of the list.
Politico: I guess you've had engagements with political parties or organizations to see how women will be pushed forward. How have these engagements been so far?
Dr. M’Cormack Hale: We had a two-day conference, it was last week Thursday and Friday and the purpose of the conference was to look at our laws, our new laws, look at the proportional representation system, look at the constitutional review process that has stalled just to look at the whole environment, the electoral environment in Sierra Leone, and what the implications are for more women in politics. We have written a communique based on that.
Also, along with partner organizations, we're planning to visit the key Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) as well as political parties this week, to just engage with them vigorously; but then even follow that to see how they can put into place rules and regulations that will make sure that women have high places within the lists, but also to engage with PPRC and ECSL to make sure that if parties don't do what they have committed to doing, then there will be ramifications for that.
Politico: What do you foresee for this election?
Dr. MCormack-Hale: I want to say, I'm hopeful. We see that the president passed this law, so we want to believe that there is a level of political will, and we are pleased about that. So given what was passed and what has been said in international forums, about the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) Bill and about what Sierra Leone is doing when it comes to its gender commitments, we want to believe that political parties will do the right thing and make sure that we get 30%.
We also just want to note that women are 50% and more of the population in Sierra Leone, and so we are looking to vote for those parties that we believe will do what women would like them to do.
Politico: The GEWE bill, many people have said the bill only benefits women that are educated, whilst our mothers and aunts that are selling in the market would not benefit from it. What would you say about that?
Dr. M’Cormack-Hale: I would say several things. First of all, for parliament, I believe women should be educated, but for local councils, for women in the districts, no you can run. 50/50 has been doing a lot of training for women, training them in putting together a campaign, training them on public speaking, and training them on the rules and regulations of politics. So, we believe that this should be open to all.
The second thing to note is that when you have more women in politics, there's a body of research that has shown that where you have more women, there are developments for children, there are developments for women, development around agriculture, there are developments on social development issues like education and health. These are issues that are very important for women, and so when you get more women in politics, which is what we're hoping to do, then we see it has knock-on benefits for the country as a whole, including development. And who has to benefit the most from these kinds of developments? The market women on the street, the woman selling, the woman who has her, her little market, little agriculture, and the Luma in the market.
So, it's not true that this only benefits elite women, when more women get in, all women benefit, and all citizens benefit. More women in politics mean better and improved development. It mean a better Sierra Leone?
Politico: There's a bill presently in Parliament that proposes punishment for parents who would want to initiate their girl child into Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) or Bondo. And there have been mixed feelings about this in parliament. The bill states that the decision should be made by the child when they reach a consenting age. What do you think about it?
Dr. M’Cormack Hale: I think the purpose of the bill is that it's saying that let it be at least 18 years of age, which is the age of consent. The idea here again is empowering girls and women to take control of their lives, rather than having decisions be made on their behalf. It is saying that we respect girls enough that they can make the decision as to whether they want to be cut or not.
So yes, let it be something that women at 18, can decide, you have autonomy over your body, and you can make the decision whether this is something that you want or not.
Politico: So as a woman who's reached the level of academic doctor, and I guess you are married, you might have children. How has the journey been for you as a career woman?
Dr. M’Cormack-Hale: As a woman, I've had a lot of support. I have God as my rock and my refuge, my faith is central to who I am, and in all that I do, God gives me the strength to do it. It is not me doing this on my own, it is me, through His grace and through His strength.
I also have a strong family support network. They say behind every good man is a woman, beside every good man is a woman and vice versa. I have a very supportive husband who believes in the work that I do.
I'm one of five children, four of us are girls. Of the four of us, three of us have PhDs. So, I think it's just very important that girls know that there's no limit. They can do anything that they set their minds to.
So having supportive parents, nurturing you from the start, and then the partners that you end up with, putting faith first, and then having a strong network of sisters. People say women don't support themselves, but that's not true. I have so many women who I can rely on and who I support.
So, we are truly a network of sisters, all of this together can allow women to break any glass ceiling.
Politico: What’s your advice to women, most times women might want to do something, but some might be shy, intimidated, and afraid to speak. So what will you say to those women?
Dr. M’Cormack-Hale: I'd say it's not easy, I know it's not easy. Even me , I don't like going on the radio, doing all of these things, but we can do it, as I said with God, all things are possible.
Secondly, it's really important to get an education. Parents need to invest in their girls so that they get an education.
Thirdly, even women I know who haven't been educated do so much in their communities, women are natural leaders in their communities. You see a woman, she is cooking, she is cleaning, she is farming, she's taking care of those who are sick, and she’s doing all of these as her multiple jobs. So, women are naturally multitasked and we have what you call a “sorry heart”.
So do not be shy, know that in your space and what you're doing, you are already doing so much that you are well equipped to stand forward, to come forward and run for the political position because you've already been doing all of this. You are a peacemaker in your communities, broking peace between your children who are fighting as well as extending that to the community.
So, I would urge women to come forward, I would say now is your time. 50/50, for us, 2023 is going to be the year of accountability for women and it's the year that we're really hoping and believing that we will see a minimum of 30%.
We need political parties to work with us and for political parties to realize that it's not women trying to elbow men out of the way, but it's the idea that as 52% of the population, God made us both man and woman and together we can really make sure Sierra Leone is the country that we want to see, that it is developed.
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