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Women in Sierra Leone

December 20, 2023

Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a Constitutional Republic in West Africa.[3] Since it was founded in 1792, the women in Sierra Leone have been a major influence in the political and economic development of the nation.

Women in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leonean woman in traditional dress
General Statistics
Maternal mortality (per 100,000)890 (2010)
Women in parliament12.4% (2013)
Women over 25 with secondary education9.5% (2012)
Women in labour force65.7% (2012)
Gender Inequality Index[1]
Value0.633 (2021)
Rank162nd out of 191
Global Gender Gap Index[2]
Value0.672 (2022)
Rank109th out of 146

Sierra Leonean women face extreme gender inequality.[4] They experience high levels of poverty, violence, and exclusion.[4] Nevertheless, they have also played an important role in the education system, founding schools and colleges, with some such as Hannah Benka-Coker being honoured with the erection of a statue for her contributions[5] and Lati Hyde-Forster, first woman to graduate from Fourah Bay College being honored with a doctor of civil laws degree by the University of Sierra Leone.[6]

Early history (1787–1900) edit

 
Madam Lehbu, queen of Upper Gaura in 1891.

With the establishment of the Province of Freedom in 1787, a Sherbro known as Queen Yamacouba was a signatory to the treaty of 1787 which ceded the land to the British.[7]

After the destruction of the Province of Freedom in 1789 and the establishment of Freetown and the Colony of Sierra Leone in 1792, all heads of Nova Scotian Settler households were eligible to vote in the upcoming elections in Freetown and one-third were ethnic African women.[8]

The majority of the ancestors of the Sierra Leone Creole people were repatriated African American, Jamaican Maroon and Liberated African women principally of Akan, Igbo and Yoruba extraction.[9] Creole households in Freetown were different from traditional African ethnic groups in Sierra Leone in that women had property rights and economic freedom and qualified as professionals such as lawyers and doctors in the early twentieth century.[9] This independence gave women the freedom to travel.[9] As they were financially independent, they were able to divorce to improve their lives economically.[9]

From 1830, the women in Sierra Leone were well known for their trading of non-slave-related items.[10] A notable woman trader of the period was Liberated African Betsy Carew who had married a butcher, James Thomas, and sold meat to the army.[11]

The Creole female traders were Christian.[12] Creole women traded along the entirety of the West Coast expanding both their trade and spreading the Christian religion.[12] However, by 1900 European companies began to dominate trade and the Creoles moved to other professions such as medicine and teaching.[12]

In 1878, Madam Yoko became the Queen of Kpaa Mende Seneghum, which had become one of the largest political alliances within the interior. She also went to war against smaller tribes to increase her holdings.[13] In 1898 she supported the British during a rebellion, which also allowed her to expand her holdings. At the time of her death in 1906, her confederacy had become so large it had to be divided into 15 chiefdoms.[14]

T J. Alldridge the first commissioner of Sierra Leone reported signing peace treaties with two women chiefs in 1889.[15]

1900–1970 edit

 
Adelaide Casely Hayford, Creole woman dressed in Fante attire on her wedding day

In the city of Freetown, before World War I a woman's position was decided on either class or ethnicity. The Creole people were the dominant ethnic group, with some having access to a better education, the wealthier families had their daughters sent to British finishing schools. The majority of Creole women however fell into the lower classes and their education usually did not go beyond elementary school level in a similar vein to their male counterparts of the same class.[16]: 439 

In 1915, Adelaide Casely-Hayford played an important part regarding women's rights in Freetown giving a lecture on "The rights of Women and Christian Marriage". In 1923 she founded the "Girls Industrial and Technical Training School" with the aim to make women self-sufficient economically.[16]: 440  In 1930 women were given the right to vote, according to local lawyer J. C. Zizer this could be attributed to the numbers of women who now worked in the civil service where their employment terms were equal to their male counterparts.[16]: 442 

In 1938, Constance Cummings-John was the first woman in Africa to be elected to a municipal council and she was the first woman to be elected Mayor of Freetown. Her actions led to the formation of the Sierra Leone Market Women's Union and the Washerwoman's Union.[17] In 1952 she founded the Sierra Leone Women's Movement as well as a newspaper.[18] She founded the Eleanor Roosevelt Preparatory School for Girls and funded it from the proceeds of her quarrying business.[19]

In 1943, Frances Wright was called to the bar, becoming the first female lawyer in Sierra Leone, she was also given an appointment by the government as a magistrate.[20] She was a legal adviser to the British High Commission in Freetown and was considered a champion of women's rights.[21]

In 1957, four women ran for parliament: Patience Richards, Constance Cummings-John, Ellen G.A. Caulker and Mrs. C.T. Williams. Cummings-John and Richards both won their bids but their party filed electoral petitions against them, preventing them from taking their seats.[22]

In 1960 the National Congress of Sierra Leone Women (NCSLW), led by Nancy Steele was founded as a women's wing of the All People's Congress (APC).[23]

Two female candidates stood for parliamentary seats in 1967: Yema Catherine Williams and Julie Keturah Kayode.[22]

In the 1973 general election Nancy Steele and Ester Lily Coker stood for election as independent candidates.[22] By now Sierra Leone had become a one-party state and their campaigns were unsuccessful.[22]

1978 saw Nancy Steele as the sole woman to stand for parliament in the general election.[22]

1970 - 1990 edit

In 1970, out of the 81 chiefdoms in Sierra Leone, 10 were led by women.[24]

In 1989, UNICEF reported that on average a woman in Sierra Leone worked up to 16 hours a day and that the majority were surviving on just one meal per day. There was a maternal mortality rate of 70% primarily from infections and malnutrition.[25]

1990 - 2000 edit

 
A Mende woman in a Sierra Leone village.

During the civil war(1991–2002), it is estimated that 33% of human rights violations were perpetrated against women.

A report by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission stated that thousands of women and girls were abducted from their homes and suffered physical-, sexual- and psychological abuse, including rape and forced pregnancy.[26] Many of them were subject to servitude, slavery and forced cannibalism while others were drugged, tortured and murdered.[26]

Sierra Leonean women and girls who endured forced pregnancies and gave birth to children by their abusers faced severe social consequences, including social isolation.[27]

A number of women and girls became soldiers with the Revelutionary United Front (RUF) during the Civil War.[27]

During the war, a group women organized founded the Sierra Leone Women's Movement for Peace, and using peaceful protests attempted to mediate peace between the warring factions.[28][29]

2000 - present edit

On June 14, 2007, the Parliament of Sierra Leone passed three laws which made wife-beating illegal, allowed women to inherit property and protected women from forced marriage.[30] However, in 2014, 63% of women aged 15–49 still held the belief that male partners were justified in hitting and beating their female partners under certain circumstances.[31]

The 2007 Domestic Violence Act is rarely enforced as survivors are required to submit a medical report to the police. The majority of women in Sierra Leone cannot afford to pay the medical examination fee nor can they afford the cost of a lawyer to represent them.[32] Many women in the rural areas of Sierra Leone still are not aware that domestic violence is a crime or of their rights.[32]

In 2012, 10,000 Sierra Leonean men participated in a project called Husband School where they learned about gender equality, domestic violence, reproductive health, female genital mutilation and family planning.[32] Husband School is organized by United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Fambul Initiative Network for Equality Sierra Leone (FINE-SL).[32] Attendance is enforced by local Paramount Chiefs.[32]

The adoption of Registration of Customary Marriages and Divorce Act made 18 the legal age for marriage.[30] Prior to this, there was no minimum age for marriage nor was consent from both parties a prerequisite.[33] In rural Sierra Leone, it was not uncommon for girls under the age of 13 to be given in marriage to elderly men.[33] The law aims to protect women and girls from forced marriage as well as physical, sexual and financial abuse.[33]

In January 2023 the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act (GEWE) was signed into law in Sierra Leone. It mandates 30% of public and private positions be reserved for women (including in parliament), provides for increased workplace training opportunities for women, allows women fourteen weeks of maternity leave, punishes discrimination against women who seek access to financial services or resources, requires equal pay for women and men working in the same job, and requires yearly reviews of the GEWE’s implementation in public and private institutions.[34]

Reproductive rights in Sierra Leone edit

Women in Sierra Leone have extremely limited reproductive rights.[35] Until 2007, women and girls could still be given in marriage by their families without their consent.[33]

Sierra Leone has one of the world's highest maternal and infant mortality rates.[33][36]

Contraception is used by 16% of adult women in Sierra Leone and 7.8% of teenage girls.[36][37]

In 2013, Sierra Leone had the 7th highest teen pregnancy rate in the world.[35] 38% of Sierra Leonean women aged 20–24 had given birth to their first baby before the age of 18.[36][31] Teenage pregnancy is a major contributing factor to Sierra Leone's high maternal mortality rate as teenage mothers have a 40%-60% risk of dying in childbed.[36] Babies born to teenage mothers have a 50% higher risk of being stillborn or dying shortly after birth than babies born to mothers over the age of 20.[36]

Abortion edit

Abortion is illegal in Sierra Leone under any circumstances.[38] The law banning abortion was passed in 1861, under the British colonial government.[39] In 2015, President Ernest Bai Koroma refused to sign the Safe Abortion Act, due to opposition from religious leaders, and said that the issue should be put to a referendum. Unsafe abortions account for 10% of maternal deaths.[38][39]

In 2022, the government backed a "risk-free motherhood" bill to legalise abortion.[40] The cabinet of President Julius Maada Bio unanimously supported the bill, which is slated to be submitted to Parliament.[39]

Female genital mutilation edit

Excluding Sierra Leone Creole women who do not practice or engage in female genital mutilation, 9 out of 10 girls and women in Sierra Leone have undergone female genital mutilation, often as part of the traditional Bundu or Bondu initiation ceremony into the Sande society.[31] Generally in Sierra Leone, where literacy levels among women is less than forty percent,[41] there is still a positive view of female genital mutilation.[31] Two-thirds of girls and women undergo the practice between ages 5 and 14.[31]

Women Pioneers of Sierra Leone edit

The names are placed in chronological order:

Academics edit

  • First woman graduate of the Evangelical College of Theology (Sierra Leone Bible College): Rev. Victoria Gladys Coker 1995.
  • First woman to head the English Department at Fourah Bay College: Dr. Kadi Sesay.

Politics edit

Professions edit

Athletics edit

Timeline of women's rights in Sierra Leone edit

1938
  • Constance Cummings-John becomes the first woman in Sierra Leone and all of Africa to be elected to a municipal council.
1957
  • Patience Richards (SLPP), Constance Cummings-John (SLPP), Ellen G.A. Caulker of the United Sierra Leone People's Party (UPP) and Mrs. C.T. Williams are the first women in Sierra Leone to run for parliament.[22]
2007

On June 14, 2007, the Parliament of Sierra Leone passed three laws which made wife-beating illegal, allowed women to inherit property and protected women from forced marriage.[30]

2012
2015
  • The 2015 Safe Abortion Act is submitted to parliament by Isata Kabia on 8 December 2015.
2023
  • In January 2023 the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act (GEWE) was signed into law in Sierra Leone. It mandates 30% of public and private positions be reserved for women (including in parliament), provides for increased workplace training opportunities for women, allows women fourteen weeks of maternity leave, punishes discrimination against women who seek access to financial services or resources, requires equal pay for women and men working in the same job, and requires yearly reviews of the GEWE’s implementation in public and private institutions.[34]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Human Development Report 2021/2022" (PDF). HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORTS. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  2. ^ "Global Gender Gap Report 2022" (PDF). World Economic Forum. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  3. ^ Nill, Susanne (2011). Can Security Sector Reform Contribute to the Reduction of Gender-Based Violence?. GRIN. p. 54. ISBN 978-3640917655.
  4. ^ a b Castillejo, Clare (June 2009). "Women's Political Participation and Influence in Sierra Leone" (PDF). Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  5. ^ Hafkin, Nancy Jane (1976). Edna G. Bay (ed.). Women in Africa: Studies in Social and Economic Change. Stanford University Press. p. 218. ISBN 978-0804710114.
  6. ^ Fyle, Magbaily C. (2005). Historical Dictionary of Sierra Leone (New ed.). Scarecrow. p. 71. ISBN 978-0810853393.
  7. ^ Caulker, Tcho Mbaimba (2008). The African-British long eighteenth century and Sierra Leone: A reading of diplomatic treaties, economic and anthropological discourse, and Syl Cheney-Coker's "The Last Harmattan of Alusine Dunbar". Michigan State University. p. 30. ISBN 9780549617914. ProQuest 304593333.
  8. ^ Simon Schama, Rough Crossings, (2006), p. 374,
  9. ^ a b c d French, Marilyn (2008). From Eve to Dawn, A History of Women in the World. Feminist Press at CUNY. p. 36. ISBN 978-1558615830.
  10. ^ Pechacek, Laura Ann (2008). Bonnie G. Smith (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History. Oxford University Press. p. 442. ISBN 978-0195148909.
  11. ^ French, Marilyn (2008). From Eve to Dawn, A History of Women in the World. Feminist Press at CUNY. pp. 36–37. ISBN 978-1558615830.
  12. ^ a b c Sundkler, Bengt; Christopher Steed (2000). A history of the Church in Africa. Cambridge University Press. p. 193. ISBN 978-0521583428.
  13. ^ Lipschutz, Mark R.; R. Kent Rasmussen (1992). Dictionary of African Historical Biography. University of California Press. p. 253. ISBN 978-0520066113.
  14. ^ Olsen, Kristin (1994). Chronology of women's history. Greenwood. p. 165. ISBN 978-0313288036.
  15. ^ Hoffer, Carol P. (1972). "Mendo and Sherbo Women in High Office". Canadian Journal of African Studies. 5 (2): 151–164. doi:10.2307/484196. JSTOR 484196.
  16. ^ a b c Denzer, LaRay (1988). Murray Last; Paul Richards; Christopher Fyfe (eds.). Sierra Leone: 1787 – 1987 ; Two Centuries of Intellectual Life. Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0719027918.
  17. ^ Falola, Toyin; Nana Akua Amponsah (2012). Women's Roles in Sub-Saharan Africa. Greenwood. p. 162. ISBN 978-0313385445.
  18. ^ Haskins, Jim (2005). African Heroes. Jossey Bass. p. 103. ISBN 978-0471466727.
  19. ^ Fyfe, Christopher (2 March 2000). "Constance Cummings-John". The Guardian.
  20. ^ Wyse, Akintola J.G. (1989). The Krio of Sierra Leone: an interpretative history. C Hurst & Co. p. 39. ISBN 978-1850650317.
  21. ^ Obituaries, Law (26 April 2010). "Frances Wright". The Telegraph.
  22. ^ a b c d e f Tadros, Mariz (8 March 2014). Women in Politics: Gender, Power and Development (Feminisms and Development). Zed Books. ISBN 978-1783600526.
  23. ^ Kathleen Sheldon (2005). "National Congress of Sierra Leonean Women". Historical Dictionary of Women in Sub-Saharan Africa. Scarecrow Press. p. 167. ISBN 978-0-8108-6547-1.
  24. ^ Morrow, Lance F. (1986). Margot I. Duley; Mary Edwards (eds.). The Cross-cultural Study of Women: A Comprehensive Guide. Feminist Press. p. 364. ISBN 978-0935312027.
  25. ^ Zack-Williams, A (1995). Gloria Thomas-Emeagwalih (ed.). Women Pay the Price: Structural Adjustment in African and the Caribbean. Africa Research & Publications. pp. 57–58. ISBN 978-0865434295.
  26. ^ a b Secco, Allessandra Dal (2007). Donna Pankhurst (ed.). Gendered Peace: Women's Struggles for Post-War Justice and Reconciliation (1st ed.). Routledge. pp. 81–82. ISBN 978-0415956482.
  27. ^ a b MacKenzie, Megan H. (2012). Female Soldiers in Sierra Leone: Sex, Security, and Post-Conflict Development. ISBN 9780814771259. Retrieved 20 June 2018. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  28. ^ Barnes, K. (2012). Women, Peace and Security: Translating Policy into Practice (Reprint ed.). Routledge. p. 126. ISBN 978-0415532495.
  29. ^ Brewer, John D. (2012). Peace Processes: A Sociological Approach. Polity. p. 87. ISBN 978-0745647760.
  30. ^ a b c Issues, Gender (4 July 2007). "SIERRA LEONE: New laws give women unprecedented rights, protections". IRIN.
  31. ^ a b c d e UNICEF, Report (2014). "Statistical Profile on Female Genital Mutilation" (PDF). unicef.org. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  32. ^ a b c d e Egbejule, Eromo (27 October 2017). "'No more beatings': Sierra Leone's husband schools take on domestic violence". reuters.com. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  33. ^ a b c d e Rubio-Marin, Ruth (2006). What Happened to the Women?: Gender and Reparations for Human Rights Violations. Social Science Research Council. p. 249. ISBN 978-0979077203.
  34. ^ a b "Sierra Leone passes law to improve women's workplace rights". www.jurist.org. 24 January 2023.
  35. ^ a b Edilberto Loaiza and, Mengjia Liang (2013). "Adolescent Pregnancy: A Review of the Evidence" (PDF). Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  36. ^ a b c d e Mitchell, Hannah (20 July 2017). "Sierra Leone: teenage girls are dying from unsafe abortions and risky pregnancies". The Guardian.
  37. ^ Emmanuella Kallon, Timothy Kenney & (2017). "Sierra Leone News: UN Population Fund kicks off Family Planning Week". Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  38. ^ a b "Sierra Leone abortion bill blocked by President Bai Koroma again". BBC News. 12 March 2016.
  39. ^ a b c Akinwotu, Emmanuel (6 July 2022). "Sierra Leone backs bill to legalise abortion and end colonial-era law". Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  40. ^ "Sierra Leone's government backs move to decriminalise abortion". Africanews. 7 April 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  41. ^ UIS STATISTICS IN BRIEF:Education in Sierra Leone, UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2006, retrieved 25 June 2008
  42. ^ Florence Mugambi, Blazing a trail: Women Africanist PhDs, Northwestern Program of African Studies News and Events, Vol. 30, No. 3 (Spring 2020).
  43. ^ Ahovi E. F. Kponou; Ngadi W. Kponou. "KATHLEEN MARY EASMON SIMANGO….. Reflections". Easmon Family History. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  44. ^ Adell Patton, Physicians, Colonial Racism and Diaspora in West Africa, University Press of Florida, 1996, p. 199.
  45. ^ Momodu, Sulaiman (26 September 2001). "Sierra Leone: First Female FBC Graduate Dies At 90". allafrica.com. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  46. ^ "Sierra Leone's Trudy Morgan Makes History by Becoming the Institution of Civil Engineers' (ICE) 1st Female Fellow in Africa". insightmedia. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  47. ^ Michael Davies-Venn (17 October 2007). "Sierra Leone's Chief National Electoral Commissioner Dr. Christiana Thorpe". Worldpress. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
  48. ^ "High Court Gets First Black Judge", BBC News, 2 September 2004.
  49. ^ Clare Dyer, "Woman QC to be high court's first black judge", The Guardian, 1 September 2004.
  50. ^ a b africanvoice (26 October 2017). "The Krios of Sierra Leone – Pioneers throughout Africa - African Voice Newspaper". African Voice Newspaper. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  51. ^ "New appointments at the African Commission". ISHR. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  52. ^ Leone, Sierra (1980). Sierra Leone: 12 Years of Economic Achievement and Political Consolidation Under the APC and Dr. Siaka Stevens, 1968-1980. Office of the President.
  53. ^ Sierra Leone Trade Journal. 1968.
  54. ^ West Africa. Afrimedia International. 1971.
  55. ^ West Africa. West Africa Publishing Company Limited. 1970.
  56. ^ West Africa. Afrimedia International. 1994.
  57. ^ "SIERRA LEONEAN GIRL BREAKS NEW GROUND FOR AFRICA IN U.S." sierravisions.org. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  58. ^ "30%: Women and Politics in Sierra Leone". womensvoicesnow.org. 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2018.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Women of Sierra Leone.

December 20, 2023
women, sierra, leone, sierra, leone, officially, republic, sierra, leone, constitutional, republic, west, africa, since, founded, 1792, women, sierra, leone, have, been, major, influence, political, economic, development, nation, sierra, leonean, woman, tradit. Sierra Leone officially the Republic of Sierra Leone is a Constitutional Republic in West Africa 3 Since it was founded in 1792 the women in Sierra Leone have been a major influence in the political and economic development of the nation Women in Sierra LeoneSierra Leonean woman in traditional dressGeneral StatisticsMaternal mortality per 100 000 890 2010 Women in parliament12 4 2013 Women over 25 with secondary education9 5 2012 Women in labour force65 7 2012 Gender Inequality Index 1 Value0 633 2021 Rank162nd out of 191Global Gender Gap Index 2 Value0 672 2022 Rank109th out of 146Sierra Leonean women face extreme gender inequality 4 They experience high levels of poverty violence and exclusion 4 Nevertheless they have also played an important role in the education system founding schools and colleges with some such as Hannah Benka Coker being honoured with the erection of a statue for her contributions 5 and Lati Hyde Forster first woman to graduate from Fourah Bay College being honored with a doctor of civil laws degree by the University of Sierra Leone 6 Contents 1 Early history 1787 1900 2 1900 1970 3 1970 1990 4 1990 2000 5 2000 present 6 Reproductive rights in Sierra Leone 6 1 Abortion 6 2 Female genital mutilation 7 Women Pioneers of Sierra Leone 7 1 Academics 7 2 Politics 7 3 Professions 7 4 Athletics 8 Timeline of women s rights in Sierra Leone 9 See also 10 References 11 External linksEarly history 1787 1900 edit nbsp Madam Lehbu queen of Upper Gaura in 1891 With the establishment of the Province of Freedom in 1787 a Sherbro known as Queen Yamacouba was a signatory to the treaty of 1787 which ceded the land to the British 7 After the destruction of the Province of Freedom in 1789 and the establishment of Freetown and the Colony of Sierra Leone in 1792 all heads of Nova Scotian Settler households were eligible to vote in the upcoming elections in Freetown and one third were ethnic African women 8 The majority of the ancestors of the Sierra Leone Creole people were repatriated African American Jamaican Maroon and Liberated African women principally of Akan Igbo and Yoruba extraction 9 Creole households in Freetown were different from traditional African ethnic groups in Sierra Leone in that women had property rights and economic freedom and qualified as professionals such as lawyers and doctors in the early twentieth century 9 This independence gave women the freedom to travel 9 As they were financially independent they were able to divorce to improve their lives economically 9 From 1830 the women in Sierra Leone were well known for their trading of non slave related items 10 A notable woman trader of the period was Liberated African Betsy Carew who had married a butcher James Thomas and sold meat to the army 11 The Creole female traders were Christian 12 Creole women traded along the entirety of the West Coast expanding both their trade and spreading the Christian religion 12 However by 1900 European companies began to dominate trade and the Creoles moved to other professions such as medicine and teaching 12 In 1878 Madam Yoko became the Queen of Kpaa Mende Seneghum which had become one of the largest political alliances within the interior She also went to war against smaller tribes to increase her holdings 13 In 1898 she supported the British during a rebellion which also allowed her to expand her holdings At the time of her death in 1906 her confederacy had become so large it had to be divided into 15 chiefdoms 14 T J Alldridge the first commissioner of Sierra Leone reported signing peace treaties with two women chiefs in 1889 15 1900 1970 edit nbsp Adelaide Casely Hayford Creole woman dressed in Fante attire on her wedding dayIn the city of Freetown before World War I a woman s position was decided on either class or ethnicity The Creole people were the dominant ethnic group with some having access to a better education the wealthier families had their daughters sent to British finishing schools The majority of Creole women however fell into the lower classes and their education usually did not go beyond elementary school level in a similar vein to their male counterparts of the same class 16 439 In 1915 Adelaide Casely Hayford played an important part regarding women s rights in Freetown giving a lecture on The rights of Women and Christian Marriage In 1923 she founded the Girls Industrial and Technical Training School with the aim to make women self sufficient economically 16 440 In 1930 women were given the right to vote according to local lawyer J C Zizer this could be attributed to the numbers of women who now worked in the civil service where their employment terms were equal to their male counterparts 16 442 In 1938 Constance Cummings John was the first woman in Africa to be elected to a municipal council and she was the first woman to be elected Mayor of Freetown Her actions led to the formation of the Sierra Leone Market Women s Union and the Washerwoman s Union 17 In 1952 she founded the Sierra Leone Women s Movement as well as a newspaper 18 She founded the Eleanor Roosevelt Preparatory School for Girls and funded it from the proceeds of her quarrying business 19 In 1943 Frances Wright was called to the bar becoming the first female lawyer in Sierra Leone she was also given an appointment by the government as a magistrate 20 She was a legal adviser to the British High Commission in Freetown and was considered a champion of women s rights 21 In 1957 four women ran for parliament Patience Richards Constance Cummings John Ellen G A Caulker and Mrs C T Williams Cummings John and Richards both won their bids but their party filed electoral petitions against them preventing them from taking their seats 22 In 1960 the National Congress of Sierra Leone Women NCSLW led by Nancy Steele was founded as a women s wing of the All People s Congress APC 23 Two female candidates stood for parliamentary seats in 1967 Yema Catherine Williams and Julie Keturah Kayode 22 In the 1973 general election Nancy Steele and Ester Lily Coker stood for election as independent candidates 22 By now Sierra Leone had become a one party state and their campaigns were unsuccessful 22 1978 saw Nancy Steele as the sole woman to stand for parliament in the general election 22 1970 1990 editIn 1970 out of the 81 chiefdoms in Sierra Leone 10 were led by women 24 In 1989 UNICEF reported that on average a woman in Sierra Leone worked up to 16 hours a day and that the majority were surviving on just one meal per day There was a maternal mortality rate of 70 primarily from infections and malnutrition 25 1990 2000 edit nbsp A Mende woman in a Sierra Leone village During the civil war 1991 2002 it is estimated that 33 of human rights violations were perpetrated against women A report by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission stated that thousands of women and girls were abducted from their homes and suffered physical sexual and psychological abuse including rape and forced pregnancy 26 Many of them were subject to servitude slavery and forced cannibalism while others were drugged tortured and murdered 26 Sierra Leonean women and girls who endured forced pregnancies and gave birth to children by their abusers faced severe social consequences including social isolation 27 A number of women and girls became soldiers with the Revelutionary United Front RUF during the Civil War 27 During the war a group women organized founded the Sierra Leone Women s Movement for Peace and using peaceful protests attempted to mediate peace between the warring factions 28 29 2000 present editOn June 14 2007 the Parliament of Sierra Leone passed three laws which made wife beating illegal allowed women to inherit property and protected women from forced marriage 30 However in 2014 63 of women aged 15 49 still held the belief that male partners were justified in hitting and beating their female partners under certain circumstances 31 The 2007 Domestic Violence Act is rarely enforced as survivors are required to submit a medical report to the police The majority of women in Sierra Leone cannot afford to pay the medical examination fee nor can they afford the cost of a lawyer to represent them 32 Many women in the rural areas of Sierra Leone still are not aware that domestic violence is a crime or of their rights 32 In 2012 10 000 Sierra Leonean men participated in a project called Husband School where they learned about gender equality domestic violence reproductive health female genital mutilation and family planning 32 Husband School is organized by United Nations Population Fund UNFPA and the Fambul Initiative Network for Equality Sierra Leone FINE SL 32 Attendance is enforced by local Paramount Chiefs 32 The adoption of Registration of Customary Marriages and Divorce Act made 18 the legal age for marriage 30 Prior to this there was no minimum age for marriage nor was consent from both parties a prerequisite 33 In rural Sierra Leone it was not uncommon for girls under the age of 13 to be given in marriage to elderly men 33 The law aims to protect women and girls from forced marriage as well as physical sexual and financial abuse 33 In January 2023 the Gender Equality and Women s Empowerment Act GEWE was signed into law in Sierra Leone It mandates 30 of public and private positions be reserved for women including in parliament provides for increased workplace training opportunities for women allows women fourteen weeks of maternity leave punishes discrimination against women who seek access to financial services or resources requires equal pay for women and men working in the same job and requires yearly reviews of the GEWE s implementation in public and private institutions 34 Reproductive rights in Sierra Leone editWomen in Sierra Leone have extremely limited reproductive rights 35 Until 2007 women and girls could still be given in marriage by their families without their consent 33 Sierra Leone has one of the world s highest maternal and infant mortality rates 33 36 Contraception is used by 16 of adult women in Sierra Leone and 7 8 of teenage girls 36 37 In 2013 Sierra Leone had the 7th highest teen pregnancy rate in the world 35 38 of Sierra Leonean women aged 20 24 had given birth to their first baby before the age of 18 36 31 Teenage pregnancy is a major contributing factor to Sierra Leone s high maternal mortality rate as teenage mothers have a 40 60 risk of dying in childbed 36 Babies born to teenage mothers have a 50 higher risk of being stillborn or dying shortly after birth than babies born to mothers over the age of 20 36 Abortion edit Abortion is illegal in Sierra Leone under any circumstances 38 The law banning abortion was passed in 1861 under the British colonial government 39 In 2015 President Ernest Bai Koroma refused to sign the Safe Abortion Act due to opposition from religious leaders and said that the issue should be put to a referendum Unsafe abortions account for 10 of maternal deaths 38 39 In 2022 the government backed a risk free motherhood bill to legalise abortion 40 The cabinet of President Julius Maada Bio unanimously supported the bill which is slated to be submitted to Parliament 39 Female genital mutilation edit Excluding Sierra Leone Creole women who do not practice or engage in female genital mutilation 9 out of 10 girls and women in Sierra Leone have undergone female genital mutilation often as part of the traditional Bundu or Bondu initiation ceremony into the Sande society 31 Generally in Sierra Leone where literacy levels among women is less than forty percent 41 there is still a positive view of female genital mutilation 31 Two thirds of girls and women undergo the practice between ages 5 and 14 31 Women Pioneers of Sierra Leone editThe names are placed in chronological order Academics edit First Sierra Leonean woman to earn a PhD Enid Rosamund Ayodele Forde 42 First West African to earn a diploma from the Royal College of Arts Kathleen Mary Easmon Simango 43 First West African woman to complete a BA degree in the Liberal Arts Edna Elliott Horton 44 First woman to graduate Fourah Bay College Lati Hyde Forster 45 First African woman to be awarded a Fellowship of the Institute of Civil Engineers Trudy Morgan 46 First woman graduate of the Evangelical College of Theology Sierra Leone Bible College Rev Victoria Gladys Coker 1995 First woman to head the English Department at Fourah Bay College Dr Kadi Sesay Politics edit First woman to become queen Queen of Kpaa Mende Seneghum Madam Yoko 1878 First woman elected to a municipal council Constance Cummings John 1938 First woman member of the Moyamba District Council Ella Koblo Gulama 1957 First woman member of the House of Representatives of Sierra Leone Ella Koblo Gulama 1957 First women to win seats in parliament Constance Cummings John and Patience Richards 1957 First woman to run as an independent candidate for parliament Mrs C T Williams 1957 First woman member Cabinet Minister Ella Koblo Gulama 1962 First woman mayor of Freetown Constance Cummings John 1966 First woman ambassador to Ethiopia Tanzania and Zambia Shirley Gbujama 1976 First woman ambassador to the United Nations Shirley Gbujama 1978 First woman to be Minister of Development and Economic Planning Dr Kadi Sesay 1999 Gender equality advocacy organization 50 50 Group of Sierra Leone is established Dr Nemata Majeks Walker 2001 First woman to be Minister of Sierra Leone Minister of Trade and Industry Dr Kadi Sesay 2002 First woman to head the National Commission for Democracy and Human Rights Dr Kadi Sesay First female Minister of Health Agnes Taylor Lewis First woman Chief Electoral Commissioner of Sierra Leone Christiana Ayoka Mary Thorpe 47 First woman to run for vice president Dr Kadi Sesay 2012 First woman head regional operations for the All Peoples Congress APC Diana Finda Konomanyi 2010 First woman Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Diana Finda Konomanyi 2012 First woman Minister of Lands Country Planning and the Environment Diana Finda Konomanyi 2015 First woman head regional operations for Sierra Leone Peoples Party SLPP Emma Kowa Jalloh 2018 First woman to run for president Femi Claudius Cole 2018 Second women to run for vice president Isata Dora Bangura 2018 First woman attorney general and minister Dr Priscilla Schwartz 2018 Professions edit First non white person to be appointed to the senior judiciary of England and Wales Dame Linda Penelope Dobbs 48 49 First Sierra Leonean woman to qualify as a medical doctor Irene Ighodaro Irene Wellesley Cole c 1942 First woman in Africa appointed as Permanent Secretary in the Civil Service Murietta Olu Williams 1962 First woman to qualify as a lawyer in Sierra Leone and West Africa Stella Thomas circa 1940 50 First Sierra Leonean woman to be called to the Bar in Great Britain and second woman to practice law in Sierra Leone Frances Claudia Wright OBE 1943 50 First Sierra Leonean jurist sworn in as Commissioner of the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights Jamesina Essie Leonora King 51 First woman judge Agnes Macaulay circa 1970 52 53 54 55 First woman Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone Umu Hawa Tejan Jalloh circa 1970 First woman appointed Justice of the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone Patricia Macaulay 1994 56 First woman of African descent to study drama at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Jeillo Edwards First Sierra Leonean woman CNN anchor Isha Sesay 2005 First black singer to feature on BBC Radio Evelyn Mary Dove 1939 First Sierra Leonean to win an Emmy award Nzinga Christine Blake 57 Athletics edit First woman to represent Sierra Leone at the Olympics Eugenia Osho Williams 1980 First women to win gold in the Heptathlon at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics Eunice Barber 1999 First women to win gold in the long jump at the All Africa Games Eunice Barber 1995 First women to win gold in the long jump at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics Eunice Barber 2003 First woman founder of a football club Isha Johansen 2004 First woman president of the Sierra Leone Football Association SLFA Isha Johansen 2013 Timeline of women s rights in Sierra Leone edit1938Constance Cummings John becomes the first woman in Sierra Leone and all of Africa to be elected to a municipal council 1957Patience Richards SLPP Constance Cummings John SLPP Ellen G A Caulker of the United Sierra Leone People s Party UPP and Mrs C T Williams are the first women in Sierra Leone to run for parliament 22 2007On June 14 2007 the Parliament of Sierra Leone passed three laws which made wife beating illegal allowed women to inherit property and protected women from forced marriage 30 2012The 30 Gender Party Quota Bill is drafted by women s rights activists Nemata Majeks Walker Barbara Bangura and Salamatu Kamara and submitted to parliament but it does not pass into law 58 2015The 2015 Safe Abortion Act is submitted to parliament by Isata Kabia on 8 December 2015 2023In January 2023 the Gender Equality and Women s Empowerment Act GEWE was signed into law in Sierra Leone It mandates 30 of public and private positions be reserved for women including in parliament provides for increased workplace training opportunities for women allows women fourteen weeks of maternity leave punishes discrimination against women who seek access to financial services or resources requires equal pay for women and men working in the same job and requires yearly reviews of the GEWE s implementation in public and private institutions 34 See also editFemale genital cutting in Sierra LeoneReferences edit Human Development Report 2021 2022 PDF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORTS Retrieved 3 January 2023 Global Gender Gap Report 2022 PDF World Economic Forum Retrieved 27 February 2023 Nill Susanne 2011 Can Security Sector Reform Contribute to the Reduction of Gender Based Violence GRIN p 54 ISBN 978 3640917655 a b Castillejo Clare June 2009 Women s Political Participation and Influence in Sierra Leone PDF Retrieved 18 June 2018 Hafkin Nancy Jane 1976 Edna G Bay ed Women in Africa Studies in Social and Economic Change Stanford University Press p 218 ISBN 978 0804710114 Fyle Magbaily C 2005 Historical Dictionary of Sierra Leone New ed Scarecrow p 71 ISBN 978 0810853393 Caulker Tcho Mbaimba 2008 The African British long eighteenth century and Sierra Leone A reading of diplomatic treaties economic and anthropological discourse and Syl Cheney Coker s The Last Harmattan of Alusine Dunbar Michigan State University p 30 ISBN 9780549617914 ProQuest 304593333 Simon Schama Rough Crossings 2006 p 374 a b c d French Marilyn 2008 From Eve to Dawn A History of Women in the World Feminist Press at CUNY p 36 ISBN 978 1558615830 Pechacek Laura Ann 2008 Bonnie G Smith ed The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History Oxford University Press p 442 ISBN 978 0195148909 French Marilyn 2008 From Eve to Dawn A History of Women in the World Feminist Press at CUNY pp 36 37 ISBN 978 1558615830 a b c Sundkler Bengt Christopher Steed 2000 A history of the Church in Africa Cambridge University Press p 193 ISBN 978 0521583428 Lipschutz Mark R R Kent Rasmussen 1992 Dictionary of African Historical Biography University of California Press p 253 ISBN 978 0520066113 Olsen Kristin 1994 Chronology of women s history Greenwood p 165 ISBN 978 0313288036 Hoffer Carol P 1972 Mendo and Sherbo Women in High Office Canadian Journal of African Studies 5 2 151 164 doi 10 2307 484196 JSTOR 484196 a b c Denzer LaRay 1988 Murray Last Paul Richards Christopher Fyfe eds Sierra Leone 1787 1987 Two Centuries of Intellectual Life Manchester University Press ISBN 978 0719027918 Falola Toyin Nana Akua Amponsah 2012 Women s Roles in Sub Saharan Africa Greenwood p 162 ISBN 978 0313385445 Haskins Jim 2005 African Heroes Jossey Bass p 103 ISBN 978 0471466727 Fyfe Christopher 2 March 2000 Constance Cummings John The Guardian Wyse Akintola J G 1989 The Krio of Sierra Leone an interpretative history C Hurst amp Co p 39 ISBN 978 1850650317 Obituaries Law 26 April 2010 Frances Wright The Telegraph a b c d e f Tadros Mariz 8 March 2014 Women in Politics Gender Power and Development Feminisms and Development Zed Books ISBN 978 1783600526 Kathleen Sheldon 2005 National Congress of Sierra Leonean Women Historical Dictionary of Women in Sub Saharan Africa Scarecrow Press p 167 ISBN 978 0 8108 6547 1 Morrow Lance F 1986 Margot I Duley Mary Edwards eds The Cross cultural Study of Women A Comprehensive Guide Feminist Press p 364 ISBN 978 0935312027 Zack Williams A 1995 Gloria Thomas Emeagwalih ed Women Pay the Price Structural Adjustment in African and the Caribbean Africa Research amp Publications pp 57 58 ISBN 978 0865434295 a b Secco Allessandra Dal 2007 Donna Pankhurst ed Gendered Peace Women s Struggles for Post War Justice and Reconciliation 1st ed Routledge pp 81 82 ISBN 978 0415956482 a b MacKenzie Megan H 2012 Female Soldiers in Sierra Leone Sex Security and Post Conflict Development ISBN 9780814771259 Retrieved 20 June 2018 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a website ignored help Barnes K 2012 Women Peace and Security Translating Policy into Practice Reprint ed Routledge p 126 ISBN 978 0415532495 Brewer John D 2012 Peace Processes A Sociological Approach Polity p 87 ISBN 978 0745647760 a b c Issues Gender 4 July 2007 SIERRA LEONE New laws give women unprecedented rights protections IRIN a b c d e UNICEF Report 2014 Statistical Profile on Female Genital Mutilation PDF unicef org Retrieved 18 June 2018 a b c d e Egbejule Eromo 27 October 2017 No more beatings Sierra Leone s husband schools take on domestic violence reuters com Retrieved 18 June 2018 a b c d e Rubio Marin Ruth 2006 What Happened to the Women Gender and Reparations for Human Rights Violations Social Science Research Council p 249 ISBN 978 0979077203 a b Sierra Leone passes law to improve women s workplace rights www jurist org 24 January 2023 a b Edilberto Loaiza and Mengjia Liang 2013 Adolescent Pregnancy A Review of the Evidence PDF Retrieved 18 June 2018 a b c d e Mitchell Hannah 20 July 2017 Sierra Leone teenage girls are dying from unsafe abortions and risky pregnancies The Guardian Emmanuella Kallon Timothy Kenney amp 2017 Sierra Leone News UN Population Fund kicks off Family Planning Week Retrieved 18 June 2018 a b Sierra Leone abortion bill blocked by President Bai Koroma again BBC News 12 March 2016 a b c Akinwotu Emmanuel 6 July 2022 Sierra Leone backs bill to legalise abortion and end colonial era law Retrieved 24 December 2022 Sierra Leone s government backs move to decriminalise abortion Africanews 7 April 2022 Retrieved 24 December 2022 UIS STATISTICS IN BRIEF Education in Sierra Leone UNESCO Institute for Statistics 2006 retrieved 25 June 2008 Florence Mugambi Blazing a trail Women Africanist PhDs Northwestern Program of African Studies News and Events Vol 30 No 3 Spring 2020 Ahovi E F Kponou Ngadi W Kponou KATHLEEN MARY EASMON SIMANGO Reflections Easmon Family History Retrieved 6 August 2017 Adell Patton Physicians Colonial Racism and Diaspora in West Africa University Press of Florida 1996 p 199 Momodu Sulaiman 26 September 2001 Sierra Leone First Female FBC Graduate Dies At 90 allafrica com Retrieved 16 June 2018 Sierra Leone s Trudy Morgan Makes History by Becoming the Institution of Civil Engineers ICE 1st Female Fellow in Africa insightmedia Retrieved 22 October 2019 Michael Davies Venn 17 October 2007 Sierra Leone s Chief National Electoral Commissioner Dr Christiana Thorpe Worldpress Retrieved 17 November 2012 High Court Gets First Black Judge BBC News 2 September 2004 Clare Dyer Woman QC to be high court s first black judge The Guardian 1 September 2004 a b africanvoice 26 October 2017 The Krios of Sierra Leone Pioneers throughout Africa African Voice Newspaper African Voice Newspaper Retrieved 28 June 2018 New appointments at the African Commission ISHR Retrieved 15 July 2020 Leone Sierra 1980 Sierra Leone 12 Years of Economic Achievement and Political Consolidation Under the APC and Dr Siaka Stevens 1968 1980 Office of the President Sierra Leone Trade Journal 1968 West Africa Afrimedia International 1971 West Africa West Africa Publishing Company Limited 1970 West Africa Afrimedia International 1994 SIERRA LEONEAN GIRL BREAKS NEW GROUND FOR AFRICA IN U S sierravisions org Retrieved 20 March 2011 30 Women and Politics in Sierra Leone womensvoicesnow org 2017 Retrieved 16 June 2018 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Women of Sierra Leone Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Women in Sierra Leone amp oldid 1175135546 Reproductive rights in Sierra Leone, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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