By Aminata Abu Bakarr Kamara
Across Sierra Leone and much of Africa, women make up more than half of the population, carry the heaviest social responsibilities, and are often the backbone of communities. They are farmers, traders, caregivers, teachers, nurses, peacebuilders, and entrepreneurs. Yet when it comes to politics and national decision-making, women remain dangerously underrepresented. More troubling is not only the low number of women in politics, but the hostile, unsafe, and discouraging environments many face when they attempt to participate.
Politics should be a platform for service, ideas, and national development. For many women, however, it has become a space of intimidation, harassment, character assassination, and, at times, physical threats. These realities push capable women out of public life before they even begin, robbing the nation of voices that could contribute meaningfully to peace, governance, and sustainable development.
Women in politics are frequently subjected to verbal abuse, online attacks, sexual harassment, and cultural stigmatization. They are judged not by their competence, but by their gender, marital status, appearance, or personal lives. In some communities, a politically active woman is still seen as “disrespectful,” “wayward,” or unfit for leadership. Such mindsets are not only outdated; they are dangerous. They silence women, normalize discrimination, and protect systems that thrive on exclusion.
The consequences go beyond individual pain. When women are intimidated out of politics, the country loses valuable perspectives. Policies on healthcare, education, market systems, environmental protection, child welfare, and social justice suffer when those most affected are absent from decision-making tables. A democracy that sidelines women is incomplete and weak. It cannot fully understand the people it claims to serve.
Creating safer political spaces for women is therefore not a favor; it is a democratic necessity. Safety must be understood broadly not only protection from physical violence, but freedom from psychological abuse, economic sabotage, and social persecution. It means being able to attend meetings without fear, campaign without harassment, express opinions without ridicule, and lead without being sexualized or threatened.
Encouragingly, Sierra Leone has in recent years taken important steps toward addressing gender imbalance in governance. One of the most significant is the political will demonstrated by President Dr. Julius Maada Bio in deliberately appointing women into key leadership and cabinet positions. His administration has recorded one of the highest representations of women in appointed public offices in the nation’s history.
Through various cabinet and senior government appointments, President Bio has placed women at the center of national administration — not as symbolic figures, but as Ministers and Deputy Ministers overseeing critical sectors such as education, finance, foreign affairs, gender, trade, science, and the Office of the Vice President. These appointments align with the spirit of the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) Act, which sets a minimum threshold for women’s representation in governance and public life.
These decisions send a powerful national message: that women belong in the highest spaces of leadership. They challenge the long-standing narrative that political authority is a male domain. They also provide young girls with something essential visible role models. When girls see women occupying ministerial offices, speaking on national platforms, negotiating policy, and managing institutions, their own ambitions expand. Representation reshapes imagination.
However, appointments alone are not enough. While they open doors, they do not automatically make political spaces safe. Many women in leadership still face hostility, media attacks, cyberbullying, and organized smear campaigns. Some are targeted not for their performance, but for daring to lead. This shows that structural change must go beyond numbers. It must confront the culture of politics itself.
Safer spaces must begin with stronger laws and firmer enforcement. Political parties, security institutions, and electoral bodies must treat violence, harassment, and hate speech against women in politics as serious offenses, not “normal political behavior.” Clear reporting mechanisms, survivor protection systems, and swift accountability are essential. When perpetrators are shielded, silence is enforced. When justice is visible, confidence grows.
Political parties in particular have a crucial role to play. They are the first gatekeepers of political participation. Parties must reform internal structures that marginalize women, enforce codes of conduct at rallies and meetings, and ensure disciplinary action against members who intimidate or abuse female colleagues. Candidate selection processes must be transparent and fair, not influenced by money, coercion, or “old boys’ networks.”
Beyond safety, women also need better political spaces that are enabling, supportive, and equitable. This means access to leadership training, campaign financing, mentorship, and media platforms. Too often, women are mobilized for grassroots support, singing, cooking, and turnout efforts, but excluded from strategic planning and real decision-making rooms. Symbolic inclusion without power changes nothing.
The role of the media is also critical. Media institutions can either reinforce harmful stereotypes or dismantle them. Responsible journalism must move away from sensationalism and sexist framing, and instead focus on women’s policies, competence, and leadership records. Female politicians should not have to outperform twice as hard to be taken half as seriously. Balanced reporting is not activism; it is professionalism.
Communities themselves must also confront internal contradictions. Society celebrates women’s strength in homes, markets, and during crises, yet questions that same strength when it seeks political expression. Families, traditional authorities, religious institutions, and schools must work deliberately to change this narrative. Young girls must grow up seeing politics not as a battlefield reserved for men, but as a legitimate civic space where their voices matter. Boys must be raised to respect female leadership, not feel threatened by it.
Women in rural communities deserve special attention. Their political participation is often constrained by poverty, illiteracy, domestic burden, and geographic isolation. Yet these women manage farms, organize savings groups, resolve disputes, and sustain families. If supported through civic education, economic empowerment, and local leadership programs, they could become a powerful force in grassroots governance.
Sierra Leone cannot afford to waste half of its human potential. The challenges facing our nation economic hardship, youth unemployment, healthcare delivery, climate vulnerability, and governance reform — require inclusive thinking and shared leadership. Women are not outsiders to these problems; they experience them daily. They are therefore central to both the struggles and the solutions.
Creating safer and better political spaces for women is not about competing with men. It is about correcting a long-standing imbalance that has weakened our democratic foundation. When women are protected, respected, and empowered in politics, the entire nation benefits through better policies, stronger institutions, and more trusted leadership.
The question is no longer whether women deserve space in politics. They already do. The real question is whether our political institutions, parties, media, and communities are brave enough to reform themselves to make those spaces safe, fair, and genuinely open.
History will not judge us by how often we praised women’s contributions, but by whether we defended their right to lead. The future of Sierra Leone’s democracy depends on that choice.
Copyright –Published in Expo Times News on Wednesday, 28th January 2026 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)
