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Sierra Leone: Gender Inequality
by Chris Crane
Inequality in Sierra Leone
By: Chris Crane
The women of Sierra Leone have faced and still face grave inequalities, but this issue has started to have some solid improvement. Some of the inequalities that women face are as follows; shortened life expectancy, little education, assault, domestic violence, lack of healthcare, and low pay for the work they do (Publishers). Inequalities in these areas make for a pretty tough life for the women of Sierra Leone.
Sierra Leone’s women have faced too many inequalities historically. One of the biggest issues for women even in recent times is being assaulted or abused. In January of 2003 there were many crimes of sexual violence against women and girls. Starting during Sierra Leone’s civil war (1991-2001) and into to 2003 there were thousands of women and girls that were abducted by rebels and were put into sexual slavery (Council). The main perpetrators of this violence were rebel forces: the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) and the West Side Boys (Council). Another issue for Sierra Leone women is that their life expectancy is only 43, the lowest in the whole world(Stibich). One in eight women die during childbirth or pregnancy and many die for AIDS. Another issue for all of the women in Sierra Leone is their lack of education. Most women do not even receive an education and if they do it is only up to sixth grade (Publishers). With little (or no) education they are not involved in the political process, they are unlikely to vote or run for elected office (Publishers). This also limits their opportunities for work (Horner).
Sierra Leone has had some improvements with women’s rights and inequalities. A law was passed in 2007 that made it a crime to assault women. This law did not entirely stop the assaults on women, but it did say something to some of the men doing this (Publishers). An organization called the 50/50 group was established in 2001. It is dedicated to helping women become part of the political process and representative government(Horner). The current president and his wife have publically supported this organization (Kabbah). “A 2006 study by the British chapter of aid agency Oxfam and the 50/50 Group found that almost a quarter of persons surveyed in the eastern Kailahun and Koinadugu districts - 23.8 percent - believed a woman could not vote for a candidate of her choice”(Horner). Although this is about 1 in 4 people disagreeing with women being able to vote, it shows that a lot of men think that women should be able to vote for their candidate. If this were during the civil war a lot more of the men would be disagreeing about women being able to vote (Horner). And lastly on the issue of healthcare, the UN human development index shows Sierra Leone on the bottom as a result of high infant and maternal mortality rate. Women need better healthcare when having babies. Sierra Leone is encouraging more women to be trained as mid-wives (Beny).
Women in Sierra Leone have historically and currently suffer inequalities. Progress is being made through laws which protect women, organizations such as 50/50, more involvement in the political process, and improvements in healthcare. So although conditions are not that great for the women of Sierra Leone, some things are improving.
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By: Chris Crane
The women of Sierra Leone have faced and still face grave inequalities, but this issue has started to have some solid improvement. Some of the inequalities that women face are as follows; shortened life expectancy, little education, assault, domestic violence, lack of healthcare, and low pay for the work they do (Publishers). Inequalities in these areas make for a pretty tough life for the women of Sierra Leone.
Sierra Leone’s women have faced too many inequalities historically. One of the biggest issues for women even in recent times is being assaulted or abused. In January of 2003 there were many crimes of sexual violence against women and girls. Starting during Sierra Leone’s civil war (1991-2001) and into to 2003 there were thousands of women and girls that were abducted by rebels and were put into sexual slavery (Council). The main perpetrators of this violence were rebel forces: the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) and the West Side Boys (Council). Another issue for Sierra Leone women is that their life expectancy is only 43, the lowest in the whole world(Stibich). One in eight women die during childbirth or pregnancy and many die for AIDS. Another issue for all of the women in Sierra Leone is their lack of education. Most women do not even receive an education and if they do it is only up to sixth grade (Publishers). With little (or no) education they are not involved in the political process, they are unlikely to vote or run for elected office (Publishers). This also limits their opportunities for work (Horner).
Sierra Leone has had some improvements with women’s rights and inequalities. A law was passed in 2007 that made it a crime to assault women. This law did not entirely stop the assaults on women, but it did say something to some of the men doing this (Publishers). An organization called the 50/50 group was established in 2001. It is dedicated to helping women become part of the political process and representative government(Horner). The current president and his wife have publically supported this organization (Kabbah). “A 2006 study by the British chapter of aid agency Oxfam and the 50/50 Group found that almost a quarter of persons surveyed in the eastern Kailahun and Koinadugu districts - 23.8 percent - believed a woman could not vote for a candidate of her choice”(Horner). Although this is about 1 in 4 people disagreeing with women being able to vote, it shows that a lot of men think that women should be able to vote for their candidate. If this were during the civil war a lot more of the men would be disagreeing about women being able to vote (Horner). And lastly on the issue of healthcare, the UN human development index shows Sierra Leone on the bottom as a result of high infant and maternal mortality rate. Women need better healthcare when having babies. Sierra Leone is encouraging more women to be trained as mid-wives (Beny).
Women in Sierra Leone have historically and currently suffer inequalities. Progress is being made through laws which protect women, organizations such as 50/50, more involvement in the political process, and improvements in healthcare. So although conditions are not that great for the women of Sierra Leone, some things are improving.
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Works Cited
AIDS reduces life expectency by over 20 years. 2009. Monday May 2009 <http://www.afrol.com/articles/10717>.
This website helped me find info of AIDS in western Africa.
Council, Norwegian Refugee. Profile of Internal Displacement: Sierra Leone. Vol. 1. Chemin Moise Duboule, 2003.
A solid source for info about the sexual violence that went on.
Horner, Rachel. Politics-Sierra Leone: Making a Voting Right a Voting Reality. 2007. 2009 <http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38804>.
Just helped me with understanding how many women really try to vote and told me about the 50/50 organization.
Publishers, Cotton Tree. Sierra Leone has worst gender inequality in the world. Monday June 2008. 18 May 2009 <www.cottontreenews.org/content/view/785/34/>.
I started on this website, it gave me a good overview of what women go through in Sierra Leone.
Stibich, Mark. Sierra Leone: World's Shortest Life Expectency. July 2007. Tuesday May 2009 <http://longevity.about.com/b/2007/07/05/sierra-leone-worlds-shortest-life-expectancy>.
Simply just about the life expectancies.
Kabbah, Ahmad Tejan. Recognition, Equality and Inclusion. November 2001. Tuesday May 2009. <http://www.sierra-leone.org/GOSL/kabbah-113001.html>.
This was valuable info about the 50/50 group.
Beny, Sam. Waking up to the MDGs: A Call for More Midwives. May 4, 2009. <http://awoko.org/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntntarticleid=5516&cntnt01returnid=15>.
I found my info on midwives here on this website
This website helped me find info of AIDS in western Africa.
Council, Norwegian Refugee. Profile of Internal Displacement: Sierra Leone. Vol. 1. Chemin Moise Duboule, 2003.
A solid source for info about the sexual violence that went on.
Horner, Rachel. Politics-Sierra Leone: Making a Voting Right a Voting Reality. 2007. 2009 <http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38804>.
Just helped me with understanding how many women really try to vote and told me about the 50/50 organization.
Publishers, Cotton Tree. Sierra Leone has worst gender inequality in the world. Monday June 2008. 18 May 2009 <www.cottontreenews.org/content/view/785/34/>.
I started on this website, it gave me a good overview of what women go through in Sierra Leone.
Stibich, Mark. Sierra Leone: World's Shortest Life Expectency. July 2007. Tuesday May 2009 <http://longevity.about.com/b/2007/07/05/sierra-leone-worlds-shortest-life-expectancy>.
Simply just about the life expectancies.
Kabbah, Ahmad Tejan. Recognition, Equality and Inclusion. November 2001. Tuesday May 2009. <http://www.sierra-leone.org/GOSL/kabbah-113001.html>.
This was valuable info about the 50/50 group.
Beny, Sam. Waking up to the MDGs: A Call for More Midwives. May 4, 2009. <http://awoko.org/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntntarticleid=5516&cntnt01returnid=15>.
I found my info on midwives here on this website
Last updated by Chris Crane on May 23, 2009
