Concord Times (Freetown)
Mariama Kandeh
17 June 2008
Freetown — There have been several reported cases of serious harassment from male opponents by female candidates contesting the forthcoming local council elections.
However, it is pertinent to re-echo that Sierra Leone is a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) which defines discrimination as "...any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the POLITICAL, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field." It is now becoming intrinsically clear that candidates from the governing All Peoples Congress (APC) are the major perpetrators unleashing terror on female candidates.
In various parts of the country, women candidates have reported harassment by some unscrupulous and unpopular male candidates who believe they should use violence against their female opponents to scare them away or get them off the race.
It is nonetheless disappointing that neither the government nor the ministry of social welfare, gender and children's affairs have released a statement condemning such acts even though the current spate of violence and harassment of opposition is a recipe for disaster.
Independent candidate contesting at ward 336 in Waterloo Lumpa, Salamatu Kamara said female candidates are not safe and need protection from the authorities. She alleged that she was harassed by APC supporters during one of her campaign trails on June 12.
"I came to Waterloo police station and reported the matter," she said but added that the police officers she met refused to go to her aid.
Indeed the campaign against violence and marginalization against women will not end soon simply because our male counterparts are not ready to accept the fact that God made Eve (first woman) out of Adam's (first man) rib and not from under his foot, which means men and women must be given equal opportunities -and politics is no exception.
President Koroma should caution APC candidates to stop using their party's governing status to destabilize the peace of the country, especially that of women, who are the most vulnerable. Women candidates should be allowed to exercise their franchise without intimidation from any quarters.
Again, APC allegedly gave party symbols to Mary Harding and Alex Sam Turay, both of ward 393 in Constituency 112 for them to contest the local council elections. Last week, supporters of these two candidates went into fierce fighting over who should campaign on the ticket of the party.
Is this the peace that Sierra Leoneans are yearning for? Despite the prediction of violence in the forthcoming elections, women don't want this to happen as it will only be detrimental to their well-being and that of their children.
Quite recently, a Peoples Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC) candidate contesting the bye elections, Haja Y Sankoh of Constituency 49 Port Loko also complained of harassment by some alleged APC youths. What do these alleged APC intimidators think they are doing to Mama Salone? I think memories of the country's gruesome conflict are still fresh in our minds and we don't want to go back to those dark ages.
Meanwhile, Gender Empowerment Movement (GEM) and other women's right advocacy group such as Campaign for Good Governance and the 50-50 Group have condemned the act. National coordinator of GEM Barbara Bangura said women have become preys of political harassment in the campaign towards the July 5 elections.
"Women also have the right to lead as men do. They spend money, their resources, their investment, time and all other things like male politicians. Why should they be harassed?" she asked.
Indeed, why should women be harassed when men too are contesting? This goes back to the stereotype belief that women are the weaker sex. But women are not weak neither are they afraid of violence.
Just because they have decided to be law-abiding citizens, which these perpetrators of violence have failed to, does not mean women are lazy nor are they cowards. Women bore the brunt of Sierra Leone's conflict and as such would want to maintain the hard-won peace and work towards the progress of the nation.
Meanwhile, opposition parties have also damned the harassment, Publicity secretary of the PMDC, Mohamed Bangura condemned the act and said that his party believes in the leadership of women. He said half of the 49 women candidates contesting under his party ticket will win though he still blamed the women for not showing much interest in the elections.
Secretary General of opposition Sierra Leone Peoples Party also condemned the act claiming that most of the intimidations are being perpetrated by APC youths in the name of task force.
Some Sierra Leonean women have also alleged that political parties have put most of the women to contest in areas where they are not popular (or not their strongholds). Parties denied this claim saying they presented female candidates for all the districts in the country.
Seemingly, women have continued to suffer various forms of violation including the disenfranchisement in the forthcoming elections. The government should put measures in place to protect these women whom have complained about the dangers that hang over them vis a vis the local council elections.
My advice to the government and authorities concerned is that they should put aside party differences and protect these women whether they are APC, SLPP, PMDC or independent because it is their right to get involved in politics and nobody should take the right away from them.
Quoting Honourable Elizabeth Lavallie: "These women are going to represent their fellow women and the problems affecting them and their children who form the bulk of the community" so why should we be so myopic in our view about women's involvement in politics?
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