Sierra Leone’s 50/50 Group Marks 25 Years of Women’s Leadership With Anniversary Events
Osman Tolo Sesay The 50/50 Group of Sierra Leone will celebrate 25 years of campaigning for women’s political representation and leadership with a series of national events, including a public lecture and the launch of accredited leadership courses.
The anniversary celebrations, scheduled for November 2026 under the theme “Still I Rise,” will highlight the organization’s contributions to gender equality, women’s empowerment and increased participation in public life since its establishment in 2001.
According to an anniversary statement by the Group’s founder and Global President, Dr. Nemata Majeks-Walker, the celebrations will feature the 14th Rajiv Bendre Women in Public Life Lecture, the introduction of accredited training programmes and a community Awujoh gathering.
The movement began on November 30, 2001, when women organized Sierra Leone’s first mock parliament at the House of Parliament in Freetown. The event featured a female head of state and a simulated state opening of Parliament to draw attention to the limited representation of women in national decision-making.
At the time, women occupied only 8% of parliamentary seats despite representing approximately half of the population. The late President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah formally launched the Group during the event, which also featured a keynote address by the late Emeritus Professor Eldred Durosimi Jones.
Reflecting on the organization’s beginnings, Majeks-Walker said training conducted by British gender and politics expert Lesley Abdela inspired the establishment of the movement. Abdela had previously founded the United Kingdom’s All Party 300 Group to campaign for greater female participation in politics.
Majeks-Walker said the Group had since helped increase women’s representation in Sierra Leone’s Parliament from 8% to more than 30%, although she stressed that further efforts were necessary to achieve equal representation.
She credited collective advocacy by women’s organizations for the passage of the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act of 2022, which established a minimum 30% quota for women in leadership and decision-making positions.
However, she warned that the legislation must be fully implemented and that the movement would continue pushing toward its broader target of 50% representation.
The Group’s current President, Professor Fredline M’Cormack-Hale, described the anniversary as an opportunity to recognize the contributions of previous generations while preparing younger women to assume leadership positions.
“Twenty-five years is a milestone, not a finish line. We honour those who built this movement, and we pass the torch to the next generation of young women and girls.
“Our next chapter means holding political parties and institutions accountable, so that promises made to women become real seats and real power.”
Over the past 25 years, the organization says it has trained more than 3,000 women through election preparedness and leadership programmes, established branches across Sierra Leone’s 16 districts and supported women seeking political office at national and local levels.
Its initiatives have also included the establishment of a directory of professional women, support for women councillors and female parliamentarians, civic education programmes, legal awareness campaigns and economic empowerment projects.
The Group has worked with national and international partners, including the European Union, Irish Aid, Oxfam, Christian Aid, the African Women’s Development Fund, the Graça Machel Trust and International IDEA.
Its advocacy efforts also contributed to the development of the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act, while its election-related programmes have provided women candidates with nonpartisan training, public-speaking skills and media visibility.
During the 2023 general elections, women won 41 of the 135 elected parliamentary seats, according to the Group’s anniversary account.
The organization has also expanded its work beyond electoral politics to include women’s land rights, climate action, peacebuilding, financial inclusion and the protection of women human rights defenders.
As part of its efforts to strengthen the next generation, the Group has trained secondary school girls in leadership and civic participation, with school clubs established in seven secondary schools.
The celebrations will begin with a media launch on Monday, Nov. 16, followed by a week of media engagements highlighting the organization’s history, ongoing programmes and future priorities.
The 14th Rajiv Bendre Women in Public Life Lecture will take place on Friday, Nov. 20, at 3 p.m. at the Freetown City Council Auditorium on the fourth floor. Approximately 300 participants, including students, diplomats, public officials and community leaders, are expected to attend.
Professor Miriam Conteh-Morgan, the first vice chancellor of Limkokwing University of Creative Technology in Sierra Leone, will deliver the keynote address titled “In Praise of the Accidental.”
The Group said Conteh-Morgan was selected in recognition of her more than 40 years of experience in higher education and her career progression from secondary school teaching to university leadership.
She previously taught in Sierra Leone and the United States, including at The Ohio State University and Harvard University, before returning home in 2013. She later became the first female deputy vice chancellor of the Institute of Public Administration and Management before assuming leadership of Limkokwing University.
The lecture will also provide the platform for the formal launch of accredited courses at the Group’s Gender Equality and Women’s Leadership Training Institute.
Through an agreement with the University of Sierra Leone, the Institute will offer formal programmes leading to certificates and diplomas, expanding its previous informal leadership training activities.
Professor Aisha Fofana Ibrahim, who led discussions and signed the agreement, said the initiative would equip women with recognized qualifications and practical leadership skills.
“Still I Rise means rising from one stage to the next. First, we identified the barriers, which we call the Eleven C’s in our training manuals, including culture, cash, confidence and corruption, and worked to remove them.
“Now we are helping women to do this work themselves. By offering formal courses, we make sure a woman leaves the Institute with knowledge, skills, confidence and a certificate that no one can take away.”
The anniversary programme will conclude on Monday, November 30, with community outreach visits and a traditional Awujoh celebration at the organization’s headquarters at 50 OAU Drive, Tower Hill, Freetown.
The outreach programme will include the distribution of gifts to new mothers at the Women’s Wing of Princess Christian Maternity Hospital, the Rainbo Initiative and women in the female section of Pademba Road Prison. The Group said the final list of beneficiaries was yet to be confirmed.
The Awujoh celebration will run from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. and feature traditional Sierra Leonean dishes, live gumbay and bubu music, with food also shared with residents in surrounding communities.
Ahead of the gathering, the Group will hold Muslim prayers at the Mende Mosque on Friday, November 27, and a thanksgiving service at Jesus Is Lord Ministry on Sunday, November 29. Both places of worship are located next to its headquarters.
As it marks the milestone, the 50/50 Group says its focus remains on expanding opportunities for women and girls, strengthening accountability among political institutions and advancing equal participation in national development.
Its anniversary message, “More Women, Better Politics. Still I Rise,” reflects its continued commitment to achieving greater female representation in Sierra Leone’s political and public institutions.