Women And Politics In Post-War Sierra Leone (2002-2011) (Policy Brief)

As part of its post-war reconstruction and peace consolidation efforts, the Government of Sierra Leone has noted in all its policy documents that gender equality is a cross-cutting issue and will be included in all government policies, programmes and projects across all sectors of society. The objective of this research was to assess the government’s gender equality and mainstreaming framework in the arena of politics and public sector governance. The author found that despite the government’s policy initiatives, women’s political empowerment within the structures of government were unsatisfactory. However, Women have continued to actively engage the state and political parties to increase their numbers in government. Abdullah reviews the proposed gender equality bill which demands that a minimum of 30% of parliamentary and local council seats are reserved for women. The paper concludes with recommendations for empowering women in politics in Sierra Leone.