FREETOWN, March 11, (232News) – As the world commemorates International Women’s Day (IWD) 2021, the People’s Alliance for Reproductive Health Advocacy (PARHA) urges Sierra Leonean men and particularly leaders to challenge themselves in confronting the barriers that undermine Women’s access to safe and reproductive health care, justice for sexual and gender-based violence, decision-making processes, among others.
Sierra Leone still records a high maternal mortality rate in large part due to limited access to healthcare practitioners, services and drugs and unsafe abortion (enhanced by an old law that criminalizes abortion).
In the last 4 years, PARHA has been working to influence sexual and reproductive health and rights policies in Sierra Leone through constructive engagement, dialogue, education, training and collaborative partnerships.
As we recognize the progress that has been made over the decade, especially in terms of legal reforms to protect the rights of women and girls, PARHA would like to challenge the Government of Sierra Leone to do more to address sexual and reproductive health rights issues in the country. In particular, we urge the government to do the needful in fulfilling her International and National commitments through ensuring review of discriminatory laws and policies militating against women and girls’ access to reproductive health and rights and the integration of comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) into our school curriculum which will engender the full realization of sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls.
This year’s theme “Choose To Challenge” throws out a challenge to our Sierra Leonean men to take up the bold step to demand decent and equal treatment, equity and unrestricted space for women and girls to exercise their rights to choose in respect of sexual and reproductive health issues that affect them.
It is eminent that when a challenge is thrown then the world becomes alert and that challenge provides the hallway to a change.
World-renowned feminist, journalist and activist, Gloria Steinem, once said “The story of women’s struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights.”
Following from the above, it is clearly evident that collective action and shared ownership for driving gender parity is what will make our campaigns impactful which will eventually make a positive difference for women and girls in respect of their SRHR.
Our Challenge to all Sierra Leonean men and boys:
– Raise up your arms to bring down the silence on the several Sexual Assault Cases seated with the judiciary and Law enforcement agencies?
– Raise up your arms to put a stop to the indiscriminate sexual assaults perpetrated on our adolescents?
– Raise up your arms to prevent the blood-related sexual assault incidences (incest) occurring in our homes?
– Raise up your arms to address silence on adolescent pregnancies that result from rape, sexual penetration and incest?
Sexual and Reproductive Health Right (SRHR) is an essential human right. Promoting and protecting SRH and Right are crucial to engendering the wellbeing of all people and in enabling them to contribute to the overall development of their communities and societies. Realizing reproductive health means that people are able to have a responsible, satisfying and safe sex life and that they have the ability to reproduce and the liberty to choose if, when and how often to do so.
The People’s Alliance for Reproductive Health Advocacy (PARHA) is a coalition of Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights Advocates. PARHA comprises over fifty civil society organizations and individual members, and works to ensure that the appropriate policy, institutional and legal environment is provided to improve the reproductive health status of particularly young women, girls and other vulnerable populations in Sierra Leone.
PARHA believes that failure to accelerate implementation of women’s rights will weaken not only health and human rights but also efforts to ease poverty, secure equitable social, economic and environmental development and achieve social justice. We pledge to stand by and with our women and girls in this fight against Gender disparity.
A challenged world is an alert world and from challenge comes change. So let’s all choose to challenge.
#ChooseToChallenge #IWD2021
Fodie Paul Oniel Kamara
Chairman, PARHA
