Over the weekend, the First Lady Fatima Bio led a delegation comprising of relevant authorities to officially launch the ‘Hands Off Our Girls’ programme in Magburaka and Bo respectively.
Speaking to mammoth crowds at the two separate events, First Lady Fatima Bio explained that all of them present have a common goal to ensure that rape, teenage pregnancy and all forms of abuses against woman and girls were completely eliminated.
She admonished everyone in the gathering to join her campaign in ensuring zero tolerance for all forms of victimizations that endanger the lives of women and girls in Sierra Leone and generally across African societies.
She warned that any man who rapes or places any form of violence against women and girls is not a real man and doesn’t fit in any decent society. She maintained that almost all girls who are raped are most likely to drop out of school and that if the girl child is forced into early marriage, the bride price lasts only for two months but that if the girl child is cared for until she finishes her education, the benefit to the parents lasts forever.
First Lady Fatima used the opportunity to prevail on Paramount Chiefs, other local authorities and everyone to come together to tackle violence and abuse against women and girls.
Fatima Bio maintained that a man who rapes and engages in any form of violence against women and girls has no place in society, adding that her husband President Julius Maada Bio will ensure that the laws of Sierra Leone would ensure that a single rape became the last rape.
The First Lady went further to state that when a child is forced into early marriage or is raped, that would almost end their education, adding that that would bring unemployment and make life very difficult for them as they grow old in society. She therefore called on everyone to help in the fight to restore the pride and dignity of women and girls.
Meanwhile, the First Lady is being highly commended for going the extra mile to ensure that the life of women and girls are not only protected by law but that they are also well catered for by law. She maintained that as a result, provision has been made by government for female students who do well in science subjects to be granted full time scholarship in school and university.
She appealed to all and sundry to join hands in combatting the menace of rape, child marriage and other violence perpetrated against women and girls across the country.
Several prominent speakers representing various groups re-echoed the First Lady’s message and committed themselves to ensuring that the campaign succeeds.
