Bo City, Southern Province, Friday 3 February 2023 – His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio has reiterated that his commitment to unleashing the power of women is deliberate, calling for unity among them, noting that he knows the amazing things women are capable of doing.
Earlier in her opening remarks as chairperson of the Sierra Leone Peoples Party, SLPP, National Women’s Conference in Bo, Mrs Annmarie Babe Harding, said the gathering was the first in the history of the party and that they were happy that it was initiated by the President as leader of the party.
She said they had gathered to discuss the way forward for women in the party and how they would ensure that the party stayed in governance, thanking First Lady Madam Fatima Bio for her tremendous support to the women’s wing of the party.
Speaking on behalf of All Political Parties Women Association, APPWA, in the country, Chairperson, Mrs Augusta James-Teima, applauded the leadership of the SLPP women’s wing for what she described as a timely venture.
She further went on to thank President Bio for the many things he had accomplished for women in the country, citing: “We have never had a President in this country who fights for women and girls like President Bio has done. We the women feel safe now more than ever before”.
Madam James-Teima ended by encouraging the women to desist from violence and encouraged them to be a model of peace as the elections draw nearer.
In her statement, the Women’s Leader of the party, Madam Hawa Foray, thanked the President for gracing their conference and talking to the women of the party, adding that some of her successes after her election was to visit the different political districts in the country and to call on her party women to be peaceful.
She ended by requesting that the President consider women of the party in the spirit of the new Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment law and called on women to embrace peace and desist from violence before, during and after forthcoming elections in June.
Speaking to the women at the conference, First Lady Madam Fatima Maada Bio encouraged those in leadership positions to serve well and be of good examples, while also challenging the women to put their differences aside and focus on ensuring that the party emerged victorious after June.
In his remarks, President Julius Maada Bio said his commitment to unleashing the power of women was deliberate, adding that he was aware of the amazing things women were capable of doing.
“I was raised by powerful women – my mom and sister – and they were forceful on me to be educated. So, if I stand here today as President, it is because I was raised by strong women,” he said, adding that the maiden conference was to solidify the peace among women in the country and to discuss ways they could empower women in the party.
He admonished them to set their differences aside and unite to better themselves while also encouraging them to desist from all forms of violence.
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