Two years ago, Sierra Leone's government invited the women's movement to draw up a bill to usher in the quota system they had been demanding for the past 10 years. The women set about working tirelessly to draft and push through a bill stipulating that women should have a 30% representation in government and public decision-making spaces. It was to be a private members' bill that came from those demanding the change.
The current parliamentary session closed on Tuesday. Despite the women's demands that the bill be pushed through as a government bill by executive order through a certificate of urgency, and eight other bills being enacted just before the close of parliament, gender equality was not included in the pack. We don't know how this will affect women's candidacy in the next electoral cycle, as nominations of candidates for local elections have closed and parliamentary nominations are due by 15 October.
The way the bill has come about reflects the ambivalence male politicians feel towards it. Some activists doubt the sincerity of political will behind the bill, and feel the women have been set up to fail. The fact that it was initially handed over to the women's movement to draft, rather than being drafted within the ministry of social welfare, gender and children's affairs, is odd. The movement was initially elated when the chance to work on the bill arose, but the technical realities of drafting and gazetting the bill proved difficult and expensive. The main sticking point in the bill is the provision for reserved and safe seats, particularly unpopular with male politicians who believe it will jeopardise their positions since no new constituencies will be created.
The issue of whether or not quotas help improve women's representation in formal politics is controversial. It is generally understood that legal changes need to be accompanied by social and cultural shifts to have teeth. Quotas alone are not sufficient, but most view them as a necessary first step towards gender equity in politics.
In Sierra Leone, 18.9% of local politicians are women, as are 13.4% at national level. But efforts to increase these figures face obstacles beyond the difficulties involved in pushing through the bill. A recent hike in the registration fees for candidacy nomination has added to activists' concerns about the number of women able to run for office, as it further decreases the likelihood of candidates outside the main parties being able to afford to do so (70% of the population lives below the poverty line). Add to this the legacy of violence that has historically accompanied elections in Sierra Leone, and you get a very hostile environment for potential female candidates.
Women's rights activists fear that, even if the bill does eventually get passed, it will be so watered down as to be ineffectual. If the provision for reserved and safe seats is removed, the bill will be of little use. Elections in Sierra Leone are only every five years.
However, a positive outcome has been how, against the odds, women have organised themselves so quickly and effectively - a sign that things are changing. Prior to the war, not one female independent candidate had won an electoral seat. Yet the increase in female independent candidates from single digits in the pre-war years to double figures and then, finally, the success of three candidates in the 2004 and 2008 local elections is a remarkable achievement that should be celebrated.
Regardless of whether the quota bill is eventually passed, it will go down in history that Sierra Leonean women have forced the government to acknowledge their role and status as a political force that can no longer be overlooked.
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I am overwhelmed to hear about this organisation. I look at the opposition against women mainly from a spiritual view. The reason why these men are against you is because the devil knows how powerful women are. I live in England and i am a Sierra Leonean. I love Sierra Leone so much that i pray regularly for my country. On several occassions God has spoken to me that Sierra Leone needs prayer as there is a curse in the land. Recently i spent three months there and i had the opportunity to mingle and study what our problem is. As i ask myself why are we poor with all our natural resources. God spoke to me that it is a root problem which goes as far back as our ancestors. Looking back at history Sierra Leone was the pinnacle of Africa. As close back as the 70's Sierra Leone was even better of than England so what has gone wrong.we must examine how that land has spilt blood and examine the spirits behind the land which makes even the best politicians cannot function to their fullest capacity.nowadays sierra Leone is like another country to me as i noticed that most people hate eachother, people kill people for a small amount of money, the bribery and corruption is the worse in the whole world, politicians donot care about the masses,tribes rise against eachother, people vote for the colour behind the parties and on tribal basis,children are growing with the same hatredness which they learn from the elders. WHAT CAN WE DO. We must join hands women to pray and make our voices known to the entire world about what is actually happening. International world would help by confronting the leaders.we must also be aware that it is not only the leaders that have to change things. We must educate the public especially the young ones to be aware of the consequences of TRIBALISM and hatredness and evil in general. One of the reasons why Ameriac and UK call themselves superpower is because their nations are thriving due to the lack of all these tribes. A british is a british so they can easily work together for the good of the land. In sleone look at how small we are and have all these tribes. It is a problem as tribes fight eachother and forget that we are all one.If you look at what GOd says "a nation that prays in agreement would do wonderful things" - but how can we pray in agreement when even in churches and mosques we fight each other. One tribe would fight the other. This is all the plan of the enemy to steal our blessings. The land is blessed but 70 percent or more live in poverty. What a shame. Therefore women rise up and take the full armour of God and say no to these men. You can do it and whatever support i can give please feel free to contact me. I can do my own bit wherever i am as the world is now small due to social networking.LET US ALL JOIN HANDS TO MOVE SIERRA LEONE TO THE NEXT LEVEL. WE SAY NO TO TRIBALISM,NEPOTISM,CORRUPTION,SEXISM,WICKEDNESS,GREED,COVETEOUSNESS ETC.LET US REMEMBER THAT WE ARE ALL ONE IN THE LORD. WHEN I CUT MY VEIN IT IS THE SAME BLOOD THAT COMES OUT.THERE IS NOTHING LIKE CREOLE BLOOD OR TEMNE BLOOD. GOD MADE US ONE IN HIS IMAGE AND LIKENESS AND TO GOD THERE IS NO TRIBE BETTER THAN THE OTHER.