Speaking on behalf of the women Alice James said “to achieve a peaceful election we would embark on empowerment training for the youth in our district, for them to serve as a peace ambassador to their different communities.’’
Alice added that in order to achieve the abovementioned, they had to engage in serious of training that would empower female aspirants. She further encouraged women to facilitate the dissemination of the registration process messages.
Deputy chief administrator, Tonkolili district council Gbawuru Sillah, encouraged Sierra Leoneans to facilitate a violence free election, as well as encouraging women to actively participate and run for any position, owing to the fact that women need to be active partners in leadership and national development, “am asking the women to control their supporters during electioneering campaign process’’ Sillah said. He raised concern about the decision that restricted women to be paramount chief, nonetheless ‘mammy queens and head woman.’
In responding to the deputy chief administrator of Tonkolili district council, chiefdom speaker, chief Pa Alimamy Koroma stated that women are forbidden to attain such position because of the traditional element surrounded the paramount chieftaincy, he furthered that women could only obtained ‘mammy queen’ position at Tonkolili district, because that title was their limitation and it harmless for them. “Am a male, my society forbid me to work under a woman, I will never work under a woman because if I did I will die” Koroma stated.
ActionAid, Daniel k Jalloh said women should be pillar in nation building, and they should also surface in significant numbers in aspiring for any position in the forthcoming elections.
“If women demand for something they will definitely succeed” as he cited Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the Liberia president as a typical example.
Memunatu E Kamara, from Sierra Leone teacher’s union stated that the awarding of symbol to female aspirant had been a big challenge, she affirmed that most men are not supportive to their wives, especially when it came to political participatory activities, as she made a plea to the men of Sierra Leone “Am calling on all the men to support us, in order for us to achieve’’ she stated.
