President Bio signs landmark gender equality law – opening doors for more women in parliament
Source: The Sierra Leone Telegraph
Last Thursday, President Julius Maada Bio signed a new Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Bill 2022, known also as the GEWE Act 2022, that is seeking to open up the country’s political space and establish a level playing field for women in politics.
Political parties are now required to ensure that 30% of their candidates for parliamentary and local council elections are women.
Of the 146 MPs in the country’s parliament, only 12.3% are currently women, and advocates of women’s rights are hoping that this new law will encourage more women to enter politics.
According to recent census survey, there are more women (over 50%) in the country than men, yet like most African countries men dominate and control the economic, political, and social life of the country.
Click here to read the full article published by The Sierra Leone Telegraph on 22 January 2023.
Last Thursday, President Julius Maada Bio signed a new Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Bill 2022, known also as the GEWE Act 2022, that is seeking to open up the country’s political space and establish a level playing field for women in politics.
Political parties are now required to ensure that 30% of their candidates for parliamentary and local council elections are women.
Of the 146 MPs in the country’s parliament, only 12.3% are currently women, and advocates of women’s rights are hoping that this new law will encourage more women to enter politics.
According to recent census survey, there are more women (over 50%) in the country than men, yet like most African countries men dominate and control the economic, political, and social life of the country.
Click here to read the full article published by The Sierra Leone Telegraph on 22 January 2023.