WIMSAL North town hall meeting highlights progress on Women’s Empowerment

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson The Women in the Media Sierra Leone (WIMSAL) Northern region town hall meeting held at the SLTU hall on Saturday highlighted significant progress in women's empowerment in Kamabai and Kamakwie. The meeting was attended by various women and other key stakeholders including traditional leaders and youth from selected towns and villages in Bombali and Karene district focuses on the outcomes of the project titled "Reposition Women-Focused CSOs for Sustainable Peace in Sierra Leone," funded by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). In her welcome address which sets the tone for a meaningful and purposeful dialogue, Madam Betty Alimamy Sesay, former WIMSAL North Chairperson, expressed gratitude to the attendees for honoring the invitation from WIMSAL. She specifically acknowledged and thanked the paramount chief of Biriwa chiefdom for taking the time to attend and grace the town hall meeting, emphasizing the importance of sharing experiences and assessing the tangible outcomes of past commitments in the context of women's empowerment. According to Edna Amie Ngeba, WIMSAL Northern region chairperson, the project targeted women and stakeholders in Bombali, Kono, Karene, Pujehun, and the Western Area Urban and Rural District,” emphasizing that the meeting aimed to assess the impact of the previous town hall meeting held in July. “The main objective is to discuss the progress made in implementing the commitments made during the previous gathering and understand how these commitments contributed to enhancing women's empowerment,” she added. During the meeting, Paramount Chief Salifu Mannah Kalawa-III and other stakeholders noted a significant increase in women's participation in politics. Councilor Alice N. Conteh and the Mammy Queen of Briwa Limba Chiefdom reported an improvement in women's representation in their communities since the last town hall meeting in July. They reported that women are actively involved in key decision-making processes, breaking previous taboos. “As a result of resolutions made after the previous town hall meeting, women in Briwa Limba Chiefdom have helped us to recently decide to support female candidates, including Madam Rosaline, for the post of chairperson at local courts in search of the first-ever female court chairperson in our chiefdom by January next year.” Women’s access to land, they say, has also increased. Madam Posseh Kalawa, a sister to PC Kalawa-III highlighted historic progress in women's access to land in their chiefdom. She mentioned that the paramount chief now seeks her consent before making decisions, and she has gained access to family land. This positive example is being followed by other families in the chiefdom. Attendees also discussed some education improvement. They reported significant achievements in girls' education, with 63 percent of girls passing the NPSE and 93 percent passing the BECE. The success of their peers in exams has motivated more girls to enroll in schools. They also disclosed improvements in the health sector particularly, in Kamalo, Karene district, there has been a positive change in the health sector. Female indigenes who meet university requirements are now serving as volunteer nurses, improving local visitations to the health facility for checkups. They spoke about increased political participation of women saying women who were previously hesitant to participate in politics are now actively involved. The attendees cited examples of women supporting councilor Alice for re-election, and overall, there has been an improvement in women's turnout at community meetings. Paramount Chief Salifu Mannah Kalawa-III, on behalf of the other attendees, expressed appreciation to WIMSAL and its partners for empowering traditional leaders and women to empower more women, which he says is pleasing in helping to enforce the provisions of 30% for women's as enshrined in the Gender Equality and Women's Empowement Act, 2020. However, they pledged to intensify efforts in empowering more women and advocated for local amenities, especially health facilities in remote villages. They emphasized the need for continued town hall meetings and logistical support for women's empowerment champions to reach more women, especially those in remote areas.