The Men’s Association for Gender Equality Sierra Leone (MAGE-SL) today engaged in a dialogue with male political allies and young women from the 17 registered political parties in the Sierra Leone. This dialogue was part of the ‘Men, Power and Politics (MPP)’ project aimed at training and mentoring political actors to enhance female inclusion and participation in politics. The MPP is implemented by MAGE-SL with support from the National Democratic Institute.
Project officer Madieu Conteh provided an overview of the MPP project. He said the project started in 2022 and initially targeted male allies within youth movements of the four main political parties represented in the 5th Parliament to break down barriers hindering women’s progress in politics. He emphasised that the project goals encompass promoting women’s active participation in politics by building their capacity and empowering them to take on leadership roles.
Addressing participants, Mohamed Konneh, the executive director of the National Democratic Institute (NDI), highlighted the importance of the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) Act as the foundation for women’s political participation in Sierra Leone. He said the Act seeks to promote women’s inclusivity and representation in politics and public life. Konneh encouraged participants to familiarise themselves with the Act.
Speaking about his institution, Konneh said that NDI is a non-profit, non-partisan, non-governmental organisation that collaborates globally to strengthen and safeguard democratic institutions, processes, norms, and values to improve the quality of life for all individuals. He reiterated NDI’s commitment to supporting the legitimacy of governance and democracy, with a dual focus on promoting peaceful conversations among political parties and enhancing inclusivity and participation, particularly for women.
He noted that the Men, Power, and Politics (MPP) project targets men to assume responsibility for promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment in the country’s political landscape. The MPP project, he said, aims to foster peaceful dialogue among political parties and strengthen inclusivity, with a specific emphasis on advancing women’s inclusion in politics.
During the dialogue, participants learned about effective communication and presentation skills for engaging political leadership at all levels. They also discussed personal experiences and identified stereotypes and behaviours that needed to be challenged to combat male chauvinism within their respective political parties.
The dialogue culminated in the drafting and adoption of parties’ specific “inclusion plans” to enhance women’s participation and inclusion at all levels of their political structure, down from grassroots to the national executive.
