By Mohamed Kamara
One thing common in the political dispensation of Sierra Leone is that they plant leaves on the branches of trees instead of planting trees to give birth to branches.
You may agree with me that the women’s empowerment bill which was tabled in parliament to enact it into an act that defines Women’s role in national politics has been put on hold for nearly twelve months. To the best of my observations, many actors interested in the bill presented by the Ministry of Gender and Children Affairs have held seminars, debates, press conferences and even openly supported the bill.
So what? Well, we heard the Campaign for Good Governance coming on board. They say they are working on a manifesto to present to all political parties. My curiosity is this, what does the CGG manifesto contain that makes it different from the contents of the bill already presented to Parliament?
Are there any further Inclusions, Clarifications or Ratifications?
I decided to throw light on this polemic issue affecting women and which has been of great concern at home and abroad and event attracted the attention of feminist groups in Western Nations. Some have even accused our Parliamentarians of muzzling the rights of women while others opine that our parliamentarians need to be school by outsiders about the need not to put women on percentages.
So what better approach awaits us to get a better solution?
My suggestion here is that those of us who are interested to respect the rights of women in society like our counterparts in Rwanda, United Kingdom, USA, Seandivian countries and Namibia should realize this, that Parliamentarians have neglected to address the bill to save the male dominance in elections and elected positions.
We are also calling the attention of His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio to act speedily on the bill.
