The secretary general of the Market Women Association, Marie Bob Kandeh, has disclosed to Awoko that they have engaged their colleagues on the three gender bills and also on the transitional justice system.
Speaking about the aims of their association, the secretary general said it was to bring the market women together so that they could speak with one voice and also educate them on their roles and responsibilities.
She stated that in law books of the country, “there are certain laws which are discriminatory against women but because the three gender bills have been passed by parliament; our organisation is trying to integrate the laws of the country which would be very important and advantageous to the market women”.
The three laws include inheritance, domestic violence and customary marriage. Marie Bob Kandeh added that they were planning to go around and sensitise their members about these laws. “If we are able to train these women on the customary laws, then most of them will ensure that their marriages are registered under the customary law,” she noted.
On how these market women are trained as most of them are illiterates she stated that, “out of a total of five million people, 52% are women… then women should be well informed about their rights and responsibilities and they should be part and parcel of decision making not only in parliament or cabinet but also in their communities
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