By Bampia James Bundu
Minister of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs, Moijueh Kaikai, has described as “elitist” the Gender Equality Bill of 2007. He was addressing participants at the “Youth, Gender Disability Dialogue Forum” organised by ENCISS at the British Council Auditorium on Tower Hill in Freetown. He was responding to statements made by a gender activist, Rosaline McCarthy, who, addressing the status of the Gender Bill, had challenged the authorities’ commitment to the process. She said that the political will of government to enact the law was lacking. But the minister argued that the draft bill he saw would only satisfy the “elite” women, and exclude the rural, illiterate women whom he said, were also important in national development. He pledged to champion the enactment of the Bill, adding that he would consider himself “a failure” if the bill did not pass during his tenure as minister. Mr. Kaikai, however, noted that it was not only the 30% quota that was necessary for women’s participation in public life. “Citizens should also not always try to compare or adopt systems from other countries, because the situations are not the same,” he argued, adding that it would be disappointing for bills to be ineffective after they had been passed in parliament. He suggested that it would be necessary for gender activists to seek the views of other women across the country, so that the process would satisfy all of them.
