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The Institute for Legal Research and Advocacy for Justice (ILRAJ) has criticised some of the provisions of the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) Act.
The legal institution said that they are disappointed with the final product of the GEWE Act.
“GEWE promised a great deal but delivered very little to achieve the objectives piloted by the Government,” I
According to ILRAJ, the Act was poorly drafted and there have been a lot of ‘misinformation and contradictory statements’ with regards provisions of the Act.
The legal institution highlighted several ambiguity in sections 3(1&2), 4(1&2) and 5 among others and that the Act is not explicit or made clarification with regards the 30 percent allocation for elective and appointive position to be made by the president.
The institution is concerned about the position of the 30 percent allocation -the office and position for the 30 percent; that this ambiguity does not guarantee that women will benefit from it.
ILRAJ is also concerned about the clause which said that women shall be allocated 30 percent of appointive positions not made by the president because almost all appointive positions are made by the president.
The legal institution also stated that they are concerned with remuneration according to skills, competence and knowledge because Sierra Leone has a history of marginalising women and this has left most women unschooled and lack basic skills.
While they commend the provisions on maternity leave, equal education and scholarships to be excellent, ILRAJ pointed out that Sierra Leone is a patriarchal society with most laws discriminating against women.
They advocated for government to empower women through scholarships, bursaries and awards and ensure barriers of discrimination against women are eliminated.
