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First Lady Fatima Maada Bio this morning joined the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces, UN Women, and partners to officially launch the Elsie Initiative Fund in Freetown.
The program supports the participation of women in peacekeeping operations.
The event, which brought together stakeholders from the military, government, and development partners, focused on making space for more uniformed women to take part in leadership roles and peace missions. The theme of the launch was “Repositioned to Meaningfully Participate and Lead in the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces and Support Peacekeeping Operations.”
The First Lady connected the launch to her long-running Hands Off Our Girls campaign, which has taken her to many parts of the world. She noted that the courage of young survivors has continued to inspire her work and that this new initiative is a step toward making sure girls and women are not left behind because of gender or culture.
She also recalled the presence of peacekeepers during Sierra Leone’s civil war and pointed out that the country has now moved from being protected to joining global efforts in peacekeeping.
Through the Elsie Initiative Fund, a number of programs will be rolled out, including recruitment and promotion of female officers, transparency and mentorship programs, scholarships, training, and better support for women in leadership during peacekeeping missions.
This effort also shows Sierra Leone’s ongoing commitment to supporting women in all areas of national and international service. The First Lady encouraged military commanders and international partners to open more space for women and work together to move the mission forward.
She ended by calling on women across Sierra Leone to step forward into leadership, saying the time is now.
