Sierra Leone Vice President Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh has on Wednesday, May 18, 2022 opened the Transformative Leadership for Gender Equality through Education Conference at the Bintumani Conference Center in Freetown. The Vice President, in his keynote address, explained about achievements made by the Government of Sierra Leone on gender parity in schools through transformative policies.
He told the audience that Government has increased the national budget on education to 22 percent, noting that Government has taken policy action by creating the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) with focus on basic education and emphasis on girls’ education. He noted that the rationale for the Radical Inclusion Policy is to support pregnant schoolgirls to continue with their education.
He expressed Government deep conviction that education is the center piece to invest in people. “Government commitment to address barriers that impede gender equality in education is rooted with the conviction that no society or country can grow if half of its population is plagued by barriers,” he noted.
“Government investment in the health sector focuses on primary and reproductive health,” Vice President Jalloh stated. He informed about the increment of budgetary allocation to the health sector from 6% in 2018 to 11.4% in 2022 by the Government, though short of the expected 15% benchmark for sub-Sahara countries, according to the Abuja Declaration.
Vice President Jalloh updated the conference on the creation of a stand-alone Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs for the purpose of working hard to overturned barriers against gender and women’s empowerment in Sierra Leone. He explained about Government vigorous respond against rape and gender-based violence, the amendment of the sexual offenses Act, the declaration of rape as State emergency, and the establishment of sexual offense court.
The Honourable Vice President maintained that policy actions by Government are designed to protect women,and provide opportunity for young girls to attend schools and stayed in a safe environment. He lauded the First Lady of Sierra Leone Mrs. Fatima Bio for her effort to compliment Government in the protection of women and girls with her Hands-Off Our Girls Campaign.
The Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, Dr. David Monina Sengeh stated that Sierra Leone cannot make better investment without empowering and encouraging women and girls. He highlighted Sierra Leone’s achievement in gender parity in schools including increased girls enrolment in schools, increased number of girls taking and passing public exams among others.
Buaki Bindi Hindowa-Deputy Minister of Gender and Children’s Affairs told the participants about the review of the National Referral Protocol on Gender Based Violence (GBV) to include school related GBV by his Ministry in partnership with the Ministry of Basic Education. He elaborated on the launched of the Gender Empowerment Policy in November 2020 with the purpose of sustainably reducing inequalities between women and men, with the focus on greater impact on investments. He spoke about the establishment of the Women’s Economic Empowerment Fund for female entrepreneurs with a seed money of one billion Leones, reiterating plans to disburse the money in the Fund in order to improve women’s economic position in Sierra Leone.
Antara Ganguli, director of UNGEI (United Nations Girls Education Initiative) Secretariat, said that the high-level meeting was historic because it brings together ministers and permanent secretaries in education ministries in sixteen countries including Sierra Leone for the first time to discuss leadership that is gender transformative and leadership that leads to a transformation in the situation of gender equality in Sierra Leone.
She stated that 67.5 percent of 15–24-year-old young people around the world who are not in training, education or employment are young women. She explains further that, one of three young women are not in training, education and employment compared to one of out of seven young men. She concluded that gender-transformative education is about the empowerment of women. The conference is slated from 18-20 May 2022.
By: Aaron Bundu Lahai-Head of Media & Public Relations