By Dadson A. Musa
The Bo District office of the Women’s Forum has on Thursday, 7th November 2024 held a conference at the Dohas hotel to popularize the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) act at the Dohas hotel in Bo. This conference was held in partnership with the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs and was well attended. Chaired by Evelyn Kornya Turay the program got off to lively and frank talks. The GEWE Act, passed in 2022 is one that aims to end the stereotypical discrimination against women and plans to take them from the backyard to the forefront of decision making and policy implementation. Conspicuous by their absences were the First Lady, Fatima Bio (Mrs.) who was supposed to give the keynote address and Sylvia Olayinka Blyden who are women that have made the differences in their respective fields of life. Evelyn Kornya Turay who heads the Women’s Forum, Bo district told the gathering that she “was very elated as it is the first conference to be held outside Freetown.” The female disability community was also on hand to grace the occasion as their voice has also been left unheard. Other stakeholders and key players invited were the FSU, ECSL, PPRC, among others.
Speaker after speaker anchored around the same theme, “women’s empowerment, emancipation and rights.” The head of Family Support Unit in Bo district warned against “parents who compromise when it comes child abuse and gender-based violence.” That the law is no respecter of persons and they exist as a unit within the police force to ensure fairness to especially women who are the weaker sex. From the ECSL representative also told the gathering that “as elections are central to our democracy, so women representation in the electoral body is key which can help strengthen our democratic gains.” In her keynote address, head of the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs in the southern region who stepped in for the first Lady assured the women “that now is the time for them to seize the opportunities and make their lives better as the GEWE act is a testament of their freedom and empowerment.” She thanked the government of Sierra Leone for ” listening to their appeals and cries.” The session went into question and answer as experiences and lessons were shared. And the vote of thanks was given by a pupil from the Queen of the Rosary Secondary school, Abibatu E. Joe.
