Eileen Hanciles
17 July 2008
(Page 2 of 3)
- Certainty in terms age would allow a woman who is mature enough to enter in to a contract; which means, if the husband dies she will be in a position to inherit the property of her late husband.
- The Act is also important as it allows the girl child to have a reasonable education before contracting any form of marriage.
- The Act also aims to reduce maternal mortality rate as girls aged 10-14 are 5 times more likely to die during child birth than women in their 20's.
- The Act also makes room for the bride's consent which is absent in most customary marriages contracted.
- The Act now allows women to own property and not as in the past when they the women were considered to be property that can be inherited by their late husband's brother under certain customary practices.
- The return of the bride price or dowry when a woman divorces has forced a lot of women to stay in unhappy marriages because most of them cannot pay back the money, however the new bill if passed in to law states that the bride price or dowry need not be repaid.
- The registration process will also serve as a means of check in ensuring that the parties are not underage.
DEVOLUTION OF ESTATES ACT:
This has to do with what happens when a man dies without writing a will. Frustratingly even under the general law which is the operational law women have been discriminated against. With the passing of the Act into law, the present law under the Mohammedan marriage law which states that women and girls are not entitled to property, cannot take over the estates of their late husbands and with no specific rule(s) as to how property can be shared will be laid to rest. Within the Administration of Estates Cap.45 of the Laws of Sierra Leone 1960, the man inherits 100% of his wife's property when she dies, whiles at the death of the husband, 1/3 of the property of the husband's estate will go to the woman if there are children and half if there are none.
- This Act will also protect illegitimate children or children born out of wedlock and man and woman who have been together for over 5 years.
- Men and Women will be treated equally.
- The Act makes it an offence to remove a surviving wife or child from the property or matrimonial home before the properties are distributed
- Heavy penalty against whosoever that intermeddles with the estates of the deceased without any lawful justification
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACT:
Domestic violence is a serious concern in Sierra Leone and it is much more than physical violence. It also comprise of sexual, emotional, psychological and even economic abuse. The prevalence of domestic violence has had a serious effect on sexual violence as wife battering and sexual offence are on the increase. The Police do not normally intervene in domestic violence except if the assault is of a serious nature or leads to death.
The Act defines domestic violence as any act or threat of any such act
1. Physical or sexual abuse
2. Economic abuse
3. Emotional, verbal or psychological abuse including any conduct that makes another person feel constantly unhappy, humiliated, ridiculed, afraid or depressed or to feel inadequate or worthless
4. Harassment; including sexual harassment and intimidation
5. Conduct that in any way harms or may harm another person, including any omission that results in harm and either (a) endangers the safety, health or wellbeing of another person (b) undermines another person's privacy, integrity or security or (c) detracts or is likely to detract from another person's dignity or worth as a human being
Punishment for as act as stipulate in the Act (s.3) is a fine not exceeding Le 5,000.000 (approx $1,650) or by imprisonment not exceeding 2 years or by both such fine and punishment.
The passing of this Act, introduces new means of dealing with domestic violence:
- With the court rooms now inundated with too many cases that they can actually handle some minor offences can be dealt with by an out of court settlement.
- With serious offences the matter can be prosecuted by the court of law under a new criminal offence titled "domestic violence" with adequate penalty against the perpetrator/accused if there is a conviction
- The Police that initially treated most of these cases with levity now have a role to play
- Medical personnel are now also involved as both medical and psychosocial therapy will be administered to victims of domestic violence.
THE ROLE OF LOCAL COUNCILS, WOMEN AND OTHER INTERESTED PARTNERS IN THE WHOLE PROCESS
Being the highest political authority by virtue of the Local Government Act No.1 of 2004, Councils as well as other partners have an important role to play in ensuring that these are fully implemented. In May 2004, democratic elections of 19 local councils were conducted for the first time since they were abolished in 1972. These local councils replace the now defunct Management Committees previously appointed by the President.
This new arrangement creates a participatory local governance structure where people (including previously marginalized groups like women) can actively participate in the political process at the local level; though disappointingly only 61 (Sixty One) women are Councillors out of a total of 469 (Four Hundred and Sixty Nine) leaving their male counterpart dominating with a total of 408 (Four hundred and Eight).
The Local Government Act (No 1) of 2004 that was enacted in February 2004, repealed enactments (laws) under which various local authorities were established. Though the Act itself recognizes the important roles that women can play in local governance, not much is given within the Act though in some instances the Act has been gender sensitive.
With a Constitutional Review Committee being set up to review the 1991 constitution, it is imperative that women wriggle their way through the committee to present their case. Chapter three of the 1991 Constitution provides for respect and protection of basic human rights and freedoms of individuals in Sierra Leone. Section 15 states that regardless of (male or female) a person has rights to enjoy all these basic rights. Section 27(1) of the constitution of Sierra Leone provides that:
"No law shall make any provision which is discriminatory either of itself or in its effect"
Unfortunately for the women folk section 27(4) weakens the above mentioned safeguard by stating that the constitution which is the most powerful law in the land can discriminates against women if it deals with Adoption, Marriage, Burial ,Sharing and distribution of property upon death as well, as well as local traditional.
With this constitutional provision in place advocacy for the implementation of these laws will be a mere waste of time .Hence strong representation must be made to the Law Reform Commission to expunge section 27(4)(d)to give these Acts the required effects. The need for strong political will to implement the Acts is also important.
CHALLENGES IN IMPLEMENTATION AND STRATEGIES FOR TAKING THIS WORK FORWARD
The new laws could, if properly implemented, lead to a considerable shift in the power dynamics of society. This however will not happen overnight. Putting these laws into practice will require a long -term investment to changing culturally ingrained practices that condone and sometimes perpetrate violence against women and girls. Attempts to change customs are likely to be controversial and inspire resentment and anxiety, particularly among men. If the new acts are to be meaningful, considerable inter-agency efforts will have to be made to bring about significant behavioral change and to strengthen the bodies charged with putting the new laws into action so that redress can be obtained. A three years roll out plan for the MSWGCA and other partners setting out what needs to be done, by when and by whom have been developed. Priority areas are enforcement, public education and data collection/monitoring.
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