SIERRA LEONE: Women access power, vote by vote
KAILAHUN, 10 March 2009 (IRIN): – In Kailahun, Sierra Leone, the poorest region in the poorest country on the globe, women are trying to effect change on the issues that matter to them – maternal mortality, girls education, teenage pregnancy, literacy rates for women – by entering political office.
One in eight Sierra Leonean women die in childbirth, the majority of women are illiterate, and just one in five girls finish secondary school, according to the UN Childrens Fund’s (UNICEF) 2009 State of the Worlds Children report.
– We (women) have to advocate for change in the issues that affect us,” said Member of Parliament for Bombali district, Marie Jalloh, one of Sierra Leone’s 17 female parliamentarians.
– And we need to take informed decisions about our lives – our health, our children’s education, economic empowerment of women. The best way to do this is by getting into power, added she.
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