First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) in Sierra Leone has launched the first network of women, an organisation that will look after women’s issues within the institution. It is hoped that the best would be derived women as they work in an environment of care and protection.
The launching ceremony took place at the FBN headquaters in Freetown, last Tuesday, attended by important personalities including the Mayor of Freetown, Yvonne Aki Sawyer. The launching portrays the bank as an institution that joined the world in celebrating women.
Speaking during the ceremony, FBN’s Managing Director in Sierra Leone, Ueleme described women as people who are resourceful, talented and passionate. The FBN Chief also informs the audience that his institution places high respect on the freedoms, rights and liberties of women.
“FBN is a gender respecter,” the FBN boss emphasised.
Udoh also commends the resilience of women saying “they must be with us no matter the situation.”
He considers women as those who greatly contribute to the rationality of men by bringing in the emotional content. The Group Executive for FBN, Olaitan Martins also made attention-catching remarks at the ceremony.
She called on women to change the narrative by working towards their destinations as dignified persons. “We can break the bias and do away with the stereotypes,” Martins encouraged the women. She also assured the women that an enabling work environment would be created for them as well as opportunities so that they could realise their worth.
With the creation of equal opportunities, women should take up leadership positions in their communities regardless of background, religion and tribe among other factors.
The network, she went on, belonged to women, and must support each other to realise their potentials.
“We can support ourselves. Women issues are prominent issues globally,” she stressed.
The former Gender Advisor to ex-President Ernest Bai Koroma also called on women to make themselves relevant to national development by not allowing anyone to tell their stories. The former Gender Advisor warned against sexual harassment in the workplace referring to such acts as crimes under the laws of Sierra Leone.
“I come after people who commit crimes against women,” she said.
Fofana spoke about the syndrome of sexually transmitted loans, most times perpetrated by male staff of most banks.
The syndrome of sexually transmitted loans is a situation in which women exchange their bodies for loans.
The former Gender Advisor believes that the actions are illegal and it strips the women of their dignity and respect.
She informed the audience that she herself had got bitter experience while trying to secure a loan from a bank to start her business. It was a time she returned to Sierra Leone from the United Kingdom struggling to set up a business.
She also made reference to accounts provided by women who, she said, had been sexually harrassed and exploited because of bank loans. She thereby urged women to resist the temptation saying “their bodies are not collaterals.”
It is owing to the growing threat of sexual violence that the former Gender Advisor welcomed the launching of the women’s network at the bank.
She hopes that the network would create fear among men who might want to exploit women because of vulnerabilities.
“Your bodies are not your job titles,” she reminded the women.
She urged women to be prepared to grab the opportunities wherever they surface.
Fofanah also believes that women should be appointed and promoted on the basis of their capabilities, and not through exploitation of their bodies.
One of the staff at the bank, a member of the new network spoke about what he wanted to be in the future. With hard work and dedication, the employee hopes to achieve her dreams. Other women also expressed similar sentiments and statements.
The keynote address was made by Mayor of Freetown City Council (FCC), Yvonne Aki Sawyer.
‘Breaking the bias’ was the thematic issue in the mayor’s address.
“Breaking the bias is something we have to do,” she urged the authorities. The FCC mayor appears determined to overcome the challenges associated with effort to stop gender bias in society.
Stopping gender bias she went on was for women to know that they deserve their rightful place in society.
She said the move to stop discrimination of women came with freedom especially freedom of the mind.
She urged women to hold themselves together in unity by supporting each other.
Sexual exploitation of women in the workplace is one of the topics the mayor also delved into.
She referred to the act as a reality in Sierra Leone, and call on women to work together to stop it.
Sexual violence must not determine one’s progress in the workplace, and that society does not tolerate it.
“You are not a commodity,” she reminded women.