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The Kailahun Women in Governance Network (KWGN), have gathered representatives of various women’s right groups to train on Sierra Leone’s gender laws in Kailahun District.
The network which has been at the forefront of a silent revolution, aimed at giving women their rightful position in decision-making was conceived in 2010.
Fatmata Baby Koker, Public Relations Officer for the organization said
“We were in total darkness about what was going on around us. We couldn’t attend meetings. We couldn’t speak in public. Men would not allow us. ten years later, Kailahun is now leading in the national effort for women to attain a minimum of 30 per cent of decision-making positions – in line with the country’s recently enacted Gender and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) law, a piece of legislation that seeks to promote gender equality’’.
Kailahun is considered one of the poorest districts in Sierra Leone, and it was also one of the hardest hit by the 1991-2002 civil war, which left much of its infrastructure in ruins.
Yet, when it comes to women’s equality and empowerment, the district is starting to make progress.
She said many women have been elected to chieftaincy positions and women in different communities had the honour of being a member of an all-important committee that elects traditional leaders like Paramount Chiefs.
Before the establishment of KWGN, there was no single woman councillor in Kailahun, today the district now boasts of six female councillors out of the available 33 seats which the Chief Administrator is also a female.
At the national level, out of the 19 female lawmakers in Sierra Leone’s Parliament, four are from Kailahun. The district also has the largest number of female representatives of any district.
