The 50/50 Group of Sierra Leone in collaboration with Rotary Clubs of Freetown and Calgery has on Friday ended a two day community women leadership skills training.
Giving an overview of the training at the Africell American corner on Bathurst Street, Madam Nemata Majek Thomas said that such intervention is geared towards empowering women to participate in decisions making at every sphere of live for good governance and democratic development.
In her statement, Madam Thomas furthered that the 50/50 Group over the years have realised that young women in Sierra Leone are more often marginalised and discouraged from participating actively in politics and decision making levels pointing tradition, customs, religious beliefs and bureau tic practices as some of the barriers to towards the empowerment of women in Sierra Leone.
Highlighting the goal of the training, which she said was to ensure effective participation of women at all levels for overall peace and development, Madam Thomas encouraged participants to effectively utilise what she described as a significant tool for the promotion of democracy.
Deliberating on formation of the 50/50 Group of Sierra Leone, Fourah Bay College branch, Madam Fatou, newly elected president of 50/50 Group Sierra Leone said that the untaken is to raise awareness of women marginalisation and impact on national development stating that the training is to educate youth on advocacy and other strategies with regards to women holistic empowerment.
While recalling the commitment of the group to replicate such initiative to other parts of the country, Madam Fatou re-affirmed the need for equal representation of both men and women which she said is a universal right.
‘’The fact that even though women constitute over 50% of population in the country, they have been underrepresented in parliament and local government bodies and Sierra Leone cannot develop without the effective participation of women in all work of live’’ Madam Fatou added.
As several facilitators made their inputs on several factors in setting up an advocacy group and lobby for the zipper system of representation in politics, participants commended the group for such a brilliant step to campaign for women’s right.
Sylvia Villa
Monday July 18, 2016
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