On 23rd June, 2022, in a high-level engagement packed with delegations of Heads of States and heads of global institutions, Sierra Leone’s First Lady, Madam Fatima Maada Bio made history in presenting her project on combating Violence Against Women and Girls. The event took place in Kigali Rwanda at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
The First Lady proposed a number of practical steps in an attempt to combat the global menace. The event which was organized by the Commonwealth Secretariat in partnership with the No More Foundation, aimed to create and to build effective and collaborative pathways to addressing violence against women and girls. In her words, the First Lady said, “Our voices and our efforts are the only sources of hope for survivors and helpless victims”. In another development, the First Lady praised her husband, His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio, for his commitment to eliminating violence against women and girls and highlighted various actions under his leadership.
This was what the First Lady had to say in that regard: “In Sierra Leone, His Excellency’s Government declared a national emergency on rape and sexual violence, established one-stop centres for survivors of rape and sexual violence, implemented a national male-involvement strategy, so that young men can see themselves as critical agents of change. He reviewed the Sexual Offences Act to provide for faster trials and stiffer penalties and established a Sexual Offences Model Court that has registered higher conviction rates,” Also, the First Lady spoke about her public advocacy campaign through the “Hands Off Our Girls” and her campaign for enrolment, retention in schools and completion. On that note she had this to say: “With my ‘Hands Off Our Girls’ national campaign in Sierra Leone, we urge communities not to be complicit any longer or be bystanders.
We emphasize that we all have an obligation to oppose and cease harmful cultural practices and attitudes and fully mobilize communities, including authority figures, older women and men, and young men”. “Education is a great tool for empowerment. We work with the Government in support of enrolling more girls in the free quality education programme. We also campaign for retention and completion. Also, because girls lose learning days as a result of the stigma of menstruation, my office has provided free sanitary pads for school-going girls and educated girls on menstrual hygiene.
We have campaigned against early marriage and the Government has overturned the ban on pregnant girls in school,” she concluded. In her closing statement, the First Lady used the global platform to propose steps to combat violence against women and girls and called on countries to support the United Nations’ Agenda Item 134 International Cooperation on Access to Justice for Survivors of Sexual Violence, which was introduced by Sierra Leone and unanimously adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in September 2021.