By Ibrahim S. Bangura
The 50/50 Group and partners, on Thursday, June 11, 2024, has called on stakeholders to protect women’s rights to contest for Section Chief Elections in Nimiyama Chiefdom in Kono District.
This request was made at a meeting held at the 50/50 group office at Tower Hill which was attended by Prof. Fredline M’Cormack-Hale, 50/50 President, Sahr Kendema, representative of Campaign for Good Governance (CGG), Dr. Aisha Fofana Ibrahim, 50/50 group representative and Brima Mansaray representative from SEND-Sierra Leone. This came about after one female who recently contested in the Section Chief elections was intimidated by her male counterparts in Nimiyama chiefdom.
The Civil Society Organizations expressing their displeasure wrote an open letter which was read on their behalf by Prof. M’Cormack-Hale: “Dear stakeholder, we the organizations are writing to express concerns about a letter on social media dated June 18, 2024, with the headline, ‘Threats against female candidates’ rights to participation in village chieftaincy elections in Kono’ which describes the intimidation of a female candidate, who by description, has all the right to contest for the section chief position in her community. We further learned that youth factions allegedly tried to prevent her from contesting and that individuals in the diaspora were sponsoring such efforts. In following up, we have since found out that partly due to the efforts of the stakeholders (including feminist civil society organizations and chiefdom leadership), the Chiefdom Committee has agreed that women have the right to take part in the expected Chiefdom Chieftaincy elections for the Paramount Chief, as long as they are qualified. It appears that several women are competing. While we welcome this news, we are calling on all stakeholders to ensure that women candidates can contest these elections without any fear for their safety. We are reminded of the passing of Sierra Leone’s well-celebrated laws that have enshrined a quota for women in political participation, e.g. the Political Parties Act (PPA) and the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) Act of 2022 which resulted in 30% of women elected to parliament. Moreover, Sierra Leone is signatory to a host of international and regional conventions that promote women’s political participation, including the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination (CEDAW), which turns 30 this year. In this area of celebrating our successes in promoting women’s political participation, we find such threats and intimidation of women political spaces appalling and unacceptable. We need to consolidate on the gains of GEWE rather than stand by and allow actions that threaten and undermine these gains. To protect the female section chief’s candidacies, we call on key stakeholders to do the following: the security sector to ensure the safety of female candidates and their families, as well as provide security for them and their teams where needed; The Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs (MLGCA) and other actors to uphold the Integrity Elections Security Planning Committee (IESPC) recommendation in their 2023 National Elections Threat Assessment Report to ban the activities of all secret societies before, during and after elections. This recommendation was made to ensure that the political environment is inclusive and participatory, following complaints from women that men were using male secret societies to intimidate them and suppress their participation; that actors involved in the election process ensure a level playing field for all candidates, and that female candidates’ rights to participate and contest the elections is respected; the accusation that threatening audios have been posted on the Chiefdom Descendant WhatsApp Forum is investigated as provided in the Cyber Security and Crime Act of 2021.
To ensure that GEWE is properly implemented across all segments of society, we must stand in solidarity with women who wish to contest elections and leadership positions at all stages and ensure that they can do this in conditions free from intimidation and fear. We also hope to see a Sierra Leone where women can contest for all Chieftaincy positions, including that of Paramount Chief across all regions of the country. We thank you for your work in making sure that these conditions are being created not just in Kono today, but for generations of women to come in other parts of Sierra Leone in the coming years.”
The organizations copied the letter to Chair, Paramount Chief Members of Parliament (PCMPs), Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL), Gender Advisory to the President, Haja Isatu Jabbie Kabbah, Human Rights Commission (HRC); Inspector General of Police, Ministry of Youth and Children’s Affairs (MoGCA), Ministry of Communication and Technology, Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs (MLGCA), National Council for Civic Education and Democracy (NaCCED), National Council of Paramount Chiefs, Sierra Leone (NCPC), Office of National Security (ONS) and Political Parties Regulation Commission (PPRC).