Sierra Leonean lawmakers on Tuesday voted unanimously to pass the Gender Empowerment Act, ensuring that one in three members of parliament, as well as local councillors, is a woman.
Currently, only 19 of Sierra Leone’s 146 members of parliament are women.
This development was a key promise in Bio’s 2018 election campaign, and it’s finally getting approval from lawmakers. There were delays in getting parliament to debate the bill.
The passed bill will now go to President Julius Bio to be signed into law and further consolidate his campaign promises.
“We want men and women to work together in making society better,” said Rugiatu Rosy Kanu, deputy chair of a parliamentary committee on gender and children’s affairs.
According to Women’s Political Participation: Africa Barometer, Women constitute only 24 per cent of the 12,113 parliamentarians in Africa, 25 per cent in the lower houses and 20 per cent in the upper houses of parliaments.
Lack of political will, restrictive electoral frameworks, and deeply entrenched patriarchy are some of the root causes of these low figures. The Bio-led administration has continued to fight for the rights of women and this is another milestone in the quest for inclusive governance.
