By Amara Thoron
Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh on Friday, 8th March, joined the commemoration of International Women’s Day (IWD), highlighting some achievements of the President Juilius Maada Bio led administration in empowering women and promoting their welfare. International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women and the challenges therein.
The Vice President joined women from all walks of life at the Miatta Conference Hall Garden as a guest speaker on ‘Invest in Women Accelerate Progress’ – the theme for this year’s Women’s Day.
Vice President Jalloh speaking as keynote speaker at the 2024 IWD commemoration
“On International Women’s Day this year, I can proudly say that we have more women in Parliament, Cabinet and strategic leadership positions than any other time in the history of Sierra Leone,” he said.
He recalled that, when they came to power in 2018, it was clearly written in His Excellency Julius Maada Bio’s manifesto that they would be a progressive government that will provide the opportunity and environment for gender equality and women’s empowerment.
“We took a multifaceted approach, looked across all sectors and mapped out a solid plan. Our primary focus was to ensure girls stay in school with our free education initiative. Education is the most powerful tool, and we are committed to providing each and every student with a high quality education. We designed the opportunity for poor rural families to receive an education, and established nurseries and schools around markets so that children can attend classes whilst their mothers work nearby. We increased the budgetary allocation to 22% and that resulted in the increased enrolment and retention rate of girls in school. Additionally, we focused on maternal and infant health, progressively increased the budget from 6% to 11.2% and reduced maternal mortality by 38%,” Vice President Jalloh explained.
The Second Gentleman of Sierra Leone thanked and appreciated women, civil society organizations including women’s groups and development partners for “their immense contributions over the years to advancing the cause of women in Sierra Leone.”
Sending a message to women in positions of trust, the Vice President said: “I encourage women in leadership roles to use their platforms to promote national cohesion and the positive image of our country as we continue to build on the gains we have made as a country.”
It could be recalled that there has been significant progress in women empowerment and right protection under the President Bio and Vice President Jalloh leadership.
On Thursday 19 January 2023, His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio signed into law the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Bill 2022, now GEWE Act 2022. The law provides for a compulsory at least 30% quota for women in all elective and appointive positions, something that has never happened in Sierra Leone.
President Bio signing the GEWE Act 2022
Signing the bill into law, President Bio sad: “For me, women’s economic empowerment and protection are not political rhetoric. Empowering women is essential to the health and social development of families, communities and countries. Women can reach their full potential when they live safe, fulfilled, productive lives. When I became President, I proclaimed that gender is firmly on my New Direction Agenda. The future of Sierra Leone is female; we must do all it takes to facilitate the timely, full, and unconditional inclusion of women in our national life, governance, and development,” he said.
“…At least 30% of all positions in Local Councils; At least 30% of all jobs in the Civil Service; At least 30% of all jobs in private institutions with 25 and more employees; Maternal leave extended from 12 weeks to 14 weeks; Financial inclusion for women; “Mainstreaming of the gender requirements across all sectoral policies and legal frameworks; Gender Responsive Budgeting; Gender Units within every Planning Directorate within MDAs; and The creation of a multi-sectoral Gender Steering Committee to oversee the implementation of the GEWE Act.”
It is evident that there are now more women in cabinet, parliament, the civil service and diplomatic positions than any time in the history of the country. While the development is expected to be sustained and improved, the President Bio government deserves a thumps up as gender issue, particular women in key leadership capacity, is crucial in both regional and global instruments and discussions.
Copy right –Printed in the Expo Times News on MONDAY, April 8th, 2024 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)