By Mohamed Juma Jalloh
The term gender is simply a biological fact of either being a male or a female; whiles gender is specifically connected to male or female sensitivities particularly when considered to be social and cultural differences between the two sexes.
If the 2016 population census is anything to go by, women account for about 51% of the total population and they are regarded to enjoy a better life expectancy than their male counterparts.
Had their numbers not recurrently been ebbed away by maternal mortality, there exists the possibility of the margin getting more disparate.
The problem is entrenched in the rural areas where many women meet their demise during child birth, most times in the hands of traditional birth attendants who are unable to handle birth complications.
Accessing the nearest peripheral health unit in remote communities gets extremely difficult, as it is not uncommon to see pregnant women carried on hammocks trekking across rivers and jagged terrains.
The launch of the free health care program for pregnant women, under fives and lactating mothers by the previous Koroma-led government, had little or no impact on peripheral communities isolated from urban towns.
In the educational sector, the pathway to women acquiring human capital development takes a pyramid like structure.
Many studies have shown that there is massive girls’ enrollment at the primary and junior secondary school level.
As they progress through the ladder from senior secondary to tertiary level, the numbers begin to dwindle.
Retention and completion are very critical issues in the country’s educational system especially as it relates to girls.
The dropout rate is heightened by the critical puberty stage as many get impregnated, while some are legitimately released by their parents for early marriage.
Lack of vocational skills to aid self employment, has led many teenage girls to preferring the short cut by indulging in one of the world’s oldest profession, prostitution.
Those that succeed in the West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE exist a semblance of a brighter future especially so with the rolling out of free scholarships for girls enrolling for science courses at universities across the country.
In the economic sphere, lack of capabilities to access the two most important factors of production in the form of capital and land has perennially stifled the progress of women in Sierra Leone.
Upon the demise of their husbands, many are branded as witches by the dead husband`s relatives and in the process they are banished without any access of inheritance to the late spouses property.
Before 2007 there were no laws to protect or guarantee women to inherit properties even after spending donkey years with their late husbands.
The passing of the ‘Three Gender Acts’ provided a cover for the protection of women`s right in the areas of inheriting property as provided for in the Devolution of Estate Act of 2007 and the Customary Marriage Act of 2007.
The implementation gaps of these laws coupled with cultural norms exacerbated by patriarchal attitudes have to a large extent challenged government and its partners to do more to address the issues that continue to threaten women’s rights.
Despite the recent enactment of the amended Sexual Offences Act of 2019 which stipulates life imprisonment for offenders of rape, as sexual penetration involving young girls is on the increase.
Domestic violence in households has remained a major concern, the scourge which entails both physical and psychological torture have continuously deterred the growth of women.
It is often said that keep the dog hungry so that it may follow you.
This is the attitude perpetrated by some men to ensure their spouses perpetually depend on them for their basic survival.
In the workplace and in the Civil Service, women with the requisite skills have infiltrated what was once a purely male dominated domain.
Many at times while trying to focus on the job, many women have come to contend with sexual harassment and victimization.
Many struggle to rise above the perception that a woman would only excel through other means other than her qualification, ability and expertise.
Women are normally confronted with comments like “bottom power” in careers in which they possess the right to exercise authority over men in the workplace.
In Sierra Leone, a woman who reaches the top has to deal with insubordination from male colleagues, who for traditional and chauvinistic reasons might not want to take directives from a woman.
Moreover, a woman has to contend with the challenge and rivalry from female colleagues who might be thinking “why her and not me?’’
Therefore for women to succeed they will have to prove to their counterparts that the elevation is as a result of productivity and talent of doing the assigned job rather than the reverse.
Breaking the barriers in politics has proven to be the most herculean task for women in Sierra Leone.
In the northern part of the country, cultural warrants strictly forbid female from occupying the prestigious position of Paramount Chief, a position one occupies for as long as the holder is alive.
If democracy should encompass the views and needs of all stakeholders of what essence is a culture that continues to marginalize and oppress the majority of its kiths and kin.
Zainab Bangura, former United Nations Special Representative on Sexual Violence in conflict had reiterated on many platforms that one of her dreams in life was to become a Paramount Chief in her native home land of Yoni Bana, Tonkolili district, northern Sierra Leone.
But the poignant reality is she is culturally precluded from holding that office.
In mainstream politics, women account for 14% in local councils, whiles Sierra Leone is rated 144 out of 192 countries with a low percentage of female Parliamentarians.
Rwanda enviably tops the chart with over 70% of female Parliamentarians, sending a strong message to western nations who purports to champion women’s right to follow suit.
Apart from the lack of financial potency to compete in political campaigns, women are prevented from politics through cultural intimidation by unleashing cultural masquerades during political campaigns.
By and large female politicians are designated to occupy women only positions such as Women`s Leader and First Ladies.
If women politicians are to break these obstacles, their compatriots must be delegates and card carrying members of political parties so that their fellow women can be voted in strategic and influential political positions.
Women are also scared away from politics by way of intimidation through the perpetration of violence and the use of obscene languages by their male counterparts.
In order for the democratic space to be opened to accommodate women in politics, government must ensure that gender activities and sensitivities that are mainstreamed in most of the policies, plans and legislations are fully implemented.
The role of the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children`s Affairs must be robust and action oriented.
As the government`s focal and advisory institution on gender it should be strengthened with the necessary logistics, expertise and training to enable it undertake its coordinating role to effectively promote gender sensitive issues.
In order to improve on the visibility of women in leadership, government must continue to invest in training programmes and elevating competent women in leadership positions.
Government must create the space for mentorship for technical jobs that are at present dominated by men.
However, the full integration of women in the national development process is not a day’s job; it would take time to empower them and enhance their capabilities as agents of economic, social and political change in Sierra Leone.