PRESS RELEASE
Rt. Hon. Kim Campbell, Former Prime Minister of Canada, and Sir Ketumile Masire, Former President of Botswana, in Sierra Leone to support women’s political leadership
The dignitaries, members of the Club of Madrid, are visiting Freetown and Makeni, 29 May–1 June, to discuss political rights and experiences of politics and governance with female and male leaders, including ministers, parliamentarians, traditional leaders, aspirants to political office, and media and civil society representatives
Freetown, 31 May 2007 – A high-level mission of the Club of Madrid is in Sierra Leone to support women’s political leadership. Former President of Botswana, Ketumile Masire; former Prime Minister of Canada, Kim Campbell; and Member of the East African Legislative Assembly and former MP of Uganda, Dora Byamukama, lead the mission. The delegation, spending three days in Freetown and one in Northern Province capital Makeni, met with more than 120 female and male leaders of Government, Parliament, political parties, local councilors, traditional leaders, and media and civil society representatives.
Delegation members have been impressed by the commitment of women and many male leaders to continuing the progress made to date in Sierra Leone towards greater participation of women in the political life of the country. The mission is in Sierra Leone at a critical moment for women’s political rights and participation. Several draft laws relating to women’s rights are pending as Parliament winds down its work for the year. And, political parties currently are organizing primaries to determine their candidates for August parliamentary elections. Several participants in the mission meetings and dialogue sessions expressed concerns that political parties are not doing enough to ensure that women will be able to participate fully in a new, constituency-based electoral system. Women and civil society groups raised alarms over a “crisis situation” wherein the elections may return fewer women to parliament than the current 14 percent of the total – already a lower percentage female representation than that of many other African countries.
President Masire told dialogue participants: “We cannot have full development without fully involving women. We have been running a two-piston engine on one piston. We need all hands on deck to make up for lost time.”
“The women of Sierra Leone are the economic backbone of this country, and played a critical role in bringing about peace,” says Campbell. “They have earned their place at the table, and should be allowed and encouraged to exercise their full political rights – as access and participation are rights, not gifts.”
Ms. Byamukama notes that “in Uganda, women account for nearly 1 in 3 parliamentarians. We all need to get to 50/50 – as stipulated in the African Union Declaration.”
“So,” she implores the women gathered to hear of the experiences of seasoned politicians, “you need to vote! And you should vote for those who will fight for your issues!”
The delegation members expressed gratification at being in Sierra Leone in support of women at this time when parties are deciding their candidates for the August elections and the Parliament and Government are working to pass implementing legislation for the women’s rights Sierra Leone signed onto when it ratified CEDAW in 1988.
“This is not an ‘Us vs. Them’ proposition,” notes Campbell. “Women need to work with our male colleagues on these issues, because it is for the benefit of our societies as a whole.”
In frank exchanges of experiences and challenges, the Club of Madrid delegation members discussed with political leaders the resources, skills and confidence necessary to strengthen women’s political leadership. Barriers identified by the delegation members and by their Sierra Leonean interlocutors include a lack of sufficient education for girls and women, cultural barriers and stigmas, and complacency among many women. Some solutions that have worked in other countries discussed include universal education, affirmative action (and/or quotas), and greater awareness of living examples of women political leaders.
Club of Madrid delegation members encouraged women to participate in politics, build networks among women at all levels of the political and social spectrum, and build up their confidence to contest political leadership positions. The delegation also engaged several key male political leaders and urged them to open up increased space for women and work with them towards more equal gender representation in Sierra Leone’s political leadership.
Information about the project
The African Women Leaders Project (AWLP) is an 18-month initiative that will provide support to women leaders in Sierra Leone and two other African countries. At least three missions will be organized to Sierra Leone, where Club of Madrid Members and experts will share leadership experiences related to increasing women’s access to decision making in the social, economic and political spheres with political decision-makers. Project activities are structured around three pillars: political leadership capacity building and gender awareness sessions; building of sustainable international networks; and advocacy actions. The project is being implemented in Sierra Leone in partnership with the Campaign for Good Governance and in association with the Network of women Leaders and Parliamentarians. The Commission of the European Union and the Canadian International Development Agency fund the project.
Information about the Club of Madrid and partners
The Club of Madrid (CoM) is an independent organization dedicated to strengthening democracy around the world by drawing on the unique experience and resources of its Members - democratic former heads of state and government. In partnership with other organizations and governments that share its democracy-promotion goals, the Club of Madrid provides peer to peer counsel, strategic support and technical advice to leaders and institutions working towards democratic transition and consolidation.
www.clubmadrid.org
Campaign for Good Governance (CGG) is an advocacy organization promoting good governance and human rights in Sierra Leone. The organization has a national representation and focuses on four programmatic areas: decentralization and local governance, access to justice and realization of rights, security sector reform and civil society strengthening.
www.slgg.org
The Network of Women Minister and Parliamentarians (NEWMAP) advocates for all protocols already signed by governments to be domesticated (CEDAW and others). It also sensitises constituencies about reproductive health and rights, HIV/AIDS, education of the girl child, and women in politics. NEWMAP is a member of the Network of African Women Ministers and Parliamentarians. Sierra Leone is the bureau representing the Western Region and one of the programs is to encourage the Nigerian parliamentarians to form their own network.
Mission leaders
