By Ilyasa Baa
The Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone is currently engaging market women, okada riders, teachers, students, women engaged in agriculture, Ataya bases in Makeni, Bo, Kenema, Port Loko and Waterloo about their fundamental human rights.
This spontaneous community engagement meeting had been carried out by the Gender and Children’s Unit of the Commission in Makeni on Sunday and Monday and Tuesday in Port Loko and other regions respectively.
It is expected that this message being cascaded is for citizens to stand for their rights and report any human right abuses to the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone.
“The Gender Equality Act, the Child Right Act, Customary Land Right Acts, Person’s with Disability Act as well as the 30% quota for women’s representation in both elective and appointed positions are the things we are explaining to them”, a staff of the Commission told this medium.
Though the Commission has not done any simplified versions of these acts, the message is passed in Krio which is the local parlance.
In the provinces, market women and vegetable planters are given the opportunity to ask questions relating to human rights in their mothers’ tongues which makes it easier for them to know their rights and responsibilities.
However, these aforementioned acts were printed in black and white and handed over to the beneficiaries especially those who cannot be able to read and write so that their children will read through and contact the regional offices when the need arises.
With this human rights awareness raising across the country, it is also expected that women especially those who are doing business would know their rights to access loans and own land like any other citizen of Sierra Leone.
Over the years, the women and Children’s unit of Human Rights Commission carried out several activities such as developing documents that have contributed tremendously to ensuring the realization of women and Children’s rights in the country.
Notable among these include the development of a Gender Policy for HRCSL, the development of a Training Manual on the Sierra Leone Gender Justice Law for use by Human Rights Workers, publication and launching of a thematic report on Women and Children titled “Road to Gender Equality and Status of Women and Children in Sierra Leone”, 2007-2008.
In collaboration with Save the Children, the unit has been able to produce ‘’The State of Children’s Rights Report 2017.”
