By Ahmed Sahid Nasralla (De Monk)
As celebrations of International Women’s Day continue after March 8th, Sierra Leonean women and girls can draw a lot of inspiration from their history.
Historically, the country’s women contributed hugely to the political, socio-economic, educational, and civil rights development of the nation.From Madam Lehbu, who became Queen of Upper Gaura in 1891 following the establishment of the Province of Freedom in 1787 (what is now known as Freetown); the Sherbro Queen Yamacouba, who was a signatory to the treaty of 1787 which ceded the land to the British; Madam Yoko, the powerful Queen of Kpaa Mende Seneghum; the contribution of Hannah Benka-Coker to education; Lati Hyde-Forster, the first woman to graduate from Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone, with a doctor of civil laws degree; the role of Betsy Carew to commerce in the 1830s; Adelaide Casely-Hayford, one of the pioneers of women’s rights in Freetown and who founded the ‘Girls
Enough said,if we Sierra Leoneans don’t put a stop to the politics of divisions,tribalism and nepostism, no one will do that for us, we have to reject it at the ballot box. The SLPP could have been better served by new a leadership, JOB’s time at the helm is over.
Thanks mr editor for the history lesson.
kamara says:
MR Neville in a democracy , people are free to vote for whom they desire without intimidation. People vote for people with whom they have something in common, be it race ,tribe, religion and economic status.Sierra leone is no different from Guinea where the fulas voted for Cellou Diallo and the mandingoes for oe ALpha conde or nigeria where majority of the southerners went for jonathan’s PDP and the Northerners went for Buhari despite PDP’s northern vice Presisntial candidate or even the USA where the southern states vote for the republicans and the North and Eastern states, the Democrats.