WUNRN
SIERRA
LEONE: New Laws Give Women Unprecedented Rights, Protections
|
Women in Sierra Leone will have more protection from abuse
under the new gender law |
DAKAR, 4 July 2007 (IRIN) - Women in Sierra Leone
stand to enjoy unprecedented rights under new laws making wife-beating a
criminal offence, allowing women to inherit property, and protecting young
women against forced marriage.
One human rights coalition said the three laws, enacted
by Sierra Leone’s parliament 14 June, will “help to radically improve the legal
position of women in Sierra Leone.” In a communique the Taskforce on Gender
Bills said, “Until now the issue of redress for injustices committed against
women especially in the domestic realm has been an uphill task because of the
inadequacies of the law.”
In the past women had no chance of justice if their
husbands abused them, experts said. Generally, such matters have been kept in
the family or at most presented to a local traditional leader.
“The new law gives tools to police and family support
units to take the necessary steps [to go after offenders],” said Tania Bernath,
a researcher with Amnesty International. “If women know they have these tools
they are more likely to bring domestic violence cases.”
A women’s rights expert in Sierra Leone said given the
stigma attached to bringing attention to domestic violence, grassroots
organisations are prepared to support women in seeking protection under the
law.
Defining abuse
“People have this idea that domestic violence is a
private, family matter that should not be taken into the public domain,” said
Jebbeh Forster of the UN development fund for women, UNIFEM. Local women’s groups
can provide the backing women need as these laws are implemented, she said.
The definition of domestic violence in the new law is
broad. It includes “physical or sexual abuse, economic abuse, emotional, verbal
or psychological abuse, harassment, conduct that harms, endangers the safety,
health or well-being of another person or undermines the privacy and dignity of
another person.”
A member of the Sierra Leonean group ‘50/50,’ which
works to increase women’s influence in public policy, said the laws are likely
to encourage women to be active in the political domain.
Confidence building
“These laws will give women confidence,” 50/50 programme
coordinator Christiana Wilson told IRIN. “If women are not confident enough,
they will not come out for political positions. Women can now say, ‘I’m
somebody. My husband cannot just beat me up. I am somebody - and why don’t I go
for even more?’”
Wilson said the act giving women inheritance rights in
marriage are crucial to women’s empowerment. “Women here are generally poor,”
she said. The law “will bring women access to wealth which is a very important
factor in getting political positions.”
Amnesty International said in a statement, “The
inheritance law ensures that throughout Sierra Leone women have access to the
property they are rightfully entitled to when their husband dies, without
interference from extended family members.”
The third act, calling for the registration of customary
marriages, introduces a minimum age of 18 years for such marriages and calls
for the consent of both parties.
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