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US envoy sues for unity, peace in SL |
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Written by James Tamba Lebbie
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Friday, 09 May 2008 |
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US Ambassador to Sierra Leone says the role of all actors and citizens is essential for unity and progress.
Ambassador June Carter Perry says all ethnic, linguistic, racial and religious segments must be part of the whole if the nation is to survive and indeed to thrive. Speaking on Tuesday at the launch of 'Ensuring Greater Inclusion of Women in the Political Process', Ambassador Perry urged Sierra Leoneans to become one people, one nation to grow and to compete in a global society. She said women’s empowerment was crucial to the development of Sierra Leone as a nation. She pointed out that because women were more than 50 percent of the country’s population, the status of women was the status of the people of Sierra Leone. Ambassador Perry said women’s achievements in the past electoral process were profound. She said as voters, activists, and candidates, many women stood up to exercise their franchise. She said however that the position of women in the political system remained disproportionate to the number of women in Sierra Leone. She said the disparity between women’s representation in society and their representation in government including the Parliament was inequitable. She pointed out that Sierra Leone ranked Number 87 in the world in terms of the women’s representation in the legislative body. At the local level, too, women constitute only thirteen percent of elected leaders, she added. She said those numbers were to the detriment of Sierra Leone. Ambassador Perry said history has shown that women’s political participation has a direct positive correlation with national development. She said when women were in decision-making positions, government decisions were more representative of the needs of the most vulnerable citizens, and basic infrastructural and developmental programs were more effective..
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