St. Clements University “THE REBEL WAR YEARS WERE CATALYTIC TO DEVELOPMENT IN THE SOCIAL ADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN IN POST-WAR SIERRA LEONE” A Dissertation In fulfilment For the Award of DDooccttoorr oo ff PPhhiilloossoopphhyy Submitted by: Christiana A.M. Thorpe B.A. Hons. Modern Languages Master of University Freetown – Sierra Leone May 2006 Dedication To the Dead: In Loving memory of My late Grandmother Christiana Bethia Moses My late Father – Joshua Boyzie Harold Thorpe My late Brother Julius Samuel Harold Thorpe, and My late aunty and godmother – Elizabeth Doherty. To the Living: My Mum: - Effumi Beatrice Thorpe. My Sisters: - Cashope, Onike and Omolora My Brothers: - Olushola, Prince and Bamidele My Best Friend and Guide: Samuel Maligi II 2 Acknowledgements I am grateful to so many people who have been helpful to me in accomplishing this ground breaking, innovative and what is for me a very fascinating study. I would like to acknowledge the moral support received from members of my household especially Margaret, Reginald, Durosimi, Yelie, Kadie and Papa. The entire membership and Institution of the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) Sierra Leone Chapter has been a reservoir of information for this study. I thank Marilyn, Gloria and Samuel for their support with the Secretariat and research assistance. To the hundreds of interviewees for their timely responses, trust and confidence, I will ever remain grateful. To daddy for the endless hours of brainstorming sessions and his inspirational support. Finally I would like to convey my gratitude to Dr. Le Cornu for his painstaking supervision in making this study a reality. 3 Table of Contents Title page……… Dedication II….. Acknowledgement III 0.1 Preamble 0.2 Study aims and Objective 0.3 Study Outline Chapter I – Women in post Independent Sierra Leone 1.1.0 Introduction – Sierra Leone 1.1.1 Goal of study 1.1.2 Facts and Figures 1.2.0 Memories of Independence Day April 27th 1961 1.3.0 Changes in the political landscape 1.3.1 Multi-party Democracy 1.3.2 Emergence of the one party state 1.4.0 Who’s Who among women and women’s organisation 1.4.1 Paramount Chief Madam Ella Koblo Gulama 1.4.2 Prominent Women Outside the political arena 1.4.3 Women’s Educational Institutions 1.5.0 The status of the Sierra Leone Woman by the 1990’s mirrored against International Instruments on Women 1.5.1 Education 1.5.2 Health 1.5.3 Women’s Access to Resource 1.5.4 Women’s Legal Right 1.6.0 Deductions Chapter Two – Women and the Sierra Leone Civil Conflict 1990 – 2002 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Root causes of the rebel war 2.3 Women’s Voluntary and Involuntary involvement in the conflict 2.3.1 Women as Activists with the potential for voluntary involvement 2.3.2 Women as victims – Involuntary Involvement 2.3.3 Research Findings 2.4 Establishment of the Forum for African Women Educationalists- FAWE Sierra Leone Chapter. 2.4.1 Official Launching of the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) Sierra Leone Chapter 4 2.4.2 Planning the New Organisation 2.5 Bintumani I and Bintumani II – Women Fighting for Democracy in Sierra Leone 2.5.1 Bintumani I and II 2.5.2 Participatory Impact of Women at the Bintumani Conferences 2.5.3 Deductions Chapter 3 – New roles, New models, New opportunities 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Education at all cost 3.2.1 Displaced Camp Schools 3.2.2 Formal/Non formal primary schools Initiating Free primary education 3.2.3 Non formal Education programmes Best Practice 3.2.4 Attempt at Female Adult Literacy Programmes 3.3 The Guinean Experience – Education for Sierra Leonean Children in Exile. 3.3.1 Primary Programme 3.3.2 Junior Secondary Programme 3.3.3 Technical /Vocational Programme 3.3.4 Female Participation 3.4 Coping with the Emergence of Child Mothers 3.5 Breaking the Silence on Rape 3.5.1 The Rape Victims Programme 3.5.2 Sensitisation Unit 3.5.3 Counselling Programme 3.5.4 Medical Team 3.5.5 FAWE’s Coordination 3.6 Building Bridges – Peace making and peace building initiatives 3.6.1 Phase One: Case study on Women’s Traditional Mediation an Conflict Resolution Practices in Sierra Leone 3.6.2 Phase Two: Development of a gender sensitive Training module for Education for a Culture of Peace. 3.6.3 Phase Three: Training of Trainers workshop – Pilot testing Training module on Education for a Culture of Peace 3.6.4 Phase Four: Training workshop for countries participating in the UNESCO special project on Women and a Culture of Peace – Rwanda, Zanzibar, Norway, Athens – Greece 3.6.4.1 Training Worksho for Girls at FAWE School in Rwanda in Education for a Culture of Peace – 4th – 7th November 2001 3.7 Strategies for Collaborative Community Participation 3.7.1 Participatory membership drive 3.7.2 Donors and Partners 3.8 Deductions Chapter 4 – Transformation Case Studies 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Transformation of Victims 4.2.1 Victims Testimonies 2004 4.2.2 Caregivers Testimonies on Victims Transformation 4.3 Transformation of Caregivers 4.4 Community Transformation 4.4.1 Kono Community Education Project – Eastern Province 4.4.2 Kaffu Bullom Chiefdom Community, Northern Province – Sexual Gender Based Violence Project –SGBV 4.4.3 Gobaru Village Community – Southern Province – Kpange Krim Chiefdom 4.4.4 Tikonko Town – Tikonko Chiefdom – Southern Province 4.5 Women Headed Organisations/NGOs 4.5.1 Women’s Organisation at National level 4.5.2 Women’s Organisation at Regional/District level 5 4.5.3 Glimpses of Social Advancemennt of Women 4.6 Deductions Chapter 5 – Impact 5.1 Introduction 5.2.0 Women and Leadership ini Postwar Sierra Leone 5.2.1 Political Representation 5.2.2 Participation of Women in Public Service Leadership 5.2.3 Selected profiles of women appointed to head key national posts in Sierra LeoneD 5.3 The Impact of Female Non-governmental Organisations 5.3.1 Community Education 5.3.2 Promotion of Training for Female Leadership 5.3.3 Promoting a Culture of Peace 5.3.4 Sub Regional Female Initiatives 5.4 Deductions Chapter 6 – The Current Status of the Sierra Leonean Women 2006 6.1 National Policies and Women a. Education b. Health and Sanitation c. Women’s Employment and Income d. Resources – Land and Agriculture e. Legal Rights – Women and Marriage Laws 6.2 Finale Appendix Bibliography 6 PREAMBLE 0.1 Introduction The first gun shots in the Sierra Leone civil war were heard in the village of Bomaru in the Kailahun District in Eastern Province of Sierra Leone on 23rd March 1991. These unusual sounds were sadly to become an all too familiar occurrence for a period of ten long years. The rebel war which raged throughout the country like wild bush fire engulfed every sector of the nation and reached its watershed in the attack of the nation’s capital Freetown on 6th January 1999. It is generally accepted that the vulnerable groups who bear the brunt of the negative impact of war in any country are women and children. This study, which is in four parts, looks at the impact of the Sierra Leone Rebel war on these vulnerable groups and analyse the active and proactive roles women played during the conflict. It attempts to show how women’s social role metamorphosed from passive and fatalistic acceptance before the war to being active engineers and designers of their destinies during the decade and after. Using the Forum for African Women Educationalists FAWE-Sierra Leone Chapter an all female local Non Governmental Organisation as a case, the study underscores the truism “every cloud has a silver lining”, while justifying the hypothesis that THE REBEL WAR YEARS WERE CATALYTIC TO DEVELOPMENT IN THE SOCIAL ADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN IN POST WAR SIERRA LEONE. An interesting feature of this study is that its entirety is an ‘eye witness’ account of lived experience. Research work personally carried out form its basis, as does the unique opportunity of starting and running a local organisation for women that is now over a thousand membership strong within a ten year time span. The justification of this study is to establish that progress can be achieved in any country when women are regarded as stakeholders in its national development. In the Sierra Leone context the realisation was brought about during the rebel war, and women are now being empowered to make their contribution to national development. 7 This is a groundbreaking and innovative study that I hope would give inspiration to women in Sierra Leone to make the best of our God-given talents and develop our potential to the fullest. 0.2 Study Goal and Objectives This study intends to trace how women through bearing the brunt of the Sierra Leone rebel war metamorphosed from being passive dependents, before the war to active civil society leaders and community builders in post war Sierra Leone. The following are the objectives of the study. 0.2.1 We establish the backdrop of the social status of the Sierra Leonean woman during the thirty-year span from independence in 1961 to the beginning of the civil war in 1991. This backdrop provides the framework for analytical comparison. 0.2.2 We examine the roles that women and women organisations assumed during the civil conflict 1991 – 2002, and the impact of these roles on society. 0.2.3 We juxtapose the above findings and highlight significant change patterns that emerged in the national social structure.