WUNRN
Support Pledged for Women in Sierra Leone's Local Elections
By
Wurie Bah
FREETOWN, Dec 30 (IPS) - Sierra Leoneans will doubtless
celebrate the past year as one in which their country distanced itself still
further from a war-torn past, by holding general elections in August that were
broadly viewed as free and fair.
Those same polls saw female candidates win a mere 16 of the
112 legislative seats contested, however, giving women control of just under 13
percent of the 124 parliamentary posts -- a far cry from the 30 percent that is
widely deemed necessary for them to begin influencing the affairs of a
legislature.
With local elections scheduled for Jul. 5 next year, the
hope is that women will fare better at the polls in 2008. Of the 473 local
council posts, 60 -- about 12.7 percent -- are currently held by women, while
107 of the 1,117 people who ran for office during the last local council
elections in 2004 were women.
Certainly, the political party representatives interviewed
by IPS are making the right noises in this regard.
"Women are going to feature prominently," said
Victor Bockarie Foe, secretary general of the ruling All People's Congress, in
reference to the candidates for local elections. Just over 11 percent of
candidates that ran for parliament earlier this year were women.
There was more of the same from the main opposition
grouping, the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP).
"We want to ensure that government is taken closer to
the people," said SLPP Secretary General Jacob Jusu Saffa. "We will
robustly support and campaign for women at the forthcoming local elections."
But, will these promises translate into reality over the
next six months? Harriet Turay, for one, is sceptical.
"There is a lack of political will by the government
and by political parties to promote women's rights and involve women in the
political process," the president of the 50/50 Group told IPS. This
non-governmental organisation (NGO) promotes greater female participation in
political and public life in Sierra Leone, in acknowledgement of the fact that
women make up about half of the West African country's population.
"Women remain largely under-represented in political
life and are persistently excluded from the exercise of power," she added.
Nonetheless, "We are determined to build the capacity
of women community leaders to promote gender equality and inclusiveness in
local governance…This time round, our voices should be heard at ward and
council levels."
The drive to put more women in office includes lobbying for
a constitutional amendment to have 30 percent of elected and appointed posts in
government set aside for women.
Winning office -- whether national or local -- requires a
challenge to long-held views about women's place in society. Traditionally seen
as home-makers rather than leaders, they are still unable to become tribal
chiefs in many parts of the country, notably the north and east.
Less than ten percent of civil service posts are held by
women, and there are just three women among the 20 cabinet ministers: the
ministers for foreign affairs and international co-operation, energy -- and
social welfare, gender and children's affairs.
A lack of financial resources further undermines women's
ability to challenge the status quo, along with fears of political violence.
Although Sierra Leone's civil war ended in 2002, the country remains saddled
with high unemployment and widespread poverty -- an explosive mixture that can
be exploited for political gain by those on the campaign trail.
"There are no legal or constitutional barriers to
women's representation -- but social, economic and cultural barriers preclude
women from competing on an equal level with men for representation in decision
making bodies, thus denying women the enjoyment of their civil and political
rights enshrined in the constitution of Sierra Leone and international
conventions to which Sierra Leone is a signatory, such as the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Elimination of
all forms of Discrimination Against Women," Jamesina King, head of the
Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone, told IPS.
Notes Ngolo Katta, director of the Centre for Co-ordination
of Youth Activities, an NGO, "The political arena is dominated by men. We
need to create a level playing ground, especially in rural areas."
"We are mounting massive awareness campaigns to
encourage women to aspire for party symbols (candidacies) in their wards,"
he told IPS.
As with presidential and parliamentary elections, it is
candidates with the most votes who win elections at local level in Sierra Leone.
The Local Government Act of 2004 established Ward
Development Committees to liaise between community members and their
councillors, committees that are required to comprise equal numbers of men and
women; however, this stipulation is often not adhered to.
"We are demanding the implementation of the Local
government Act of 2004 which provides a statutory representation of a minimum
of 50 percent…women at the ward committee level," said Turay.
"We have a right to have 50 percent in governance at every
level…we constitute 52 percent of the population. It is our right and we will
get it."
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