FAME foundation was established to solicit, encourage and advance the social, emotional and economic wellbeing of women and girls as well as formulate programmes within the framework of national development plan with a view to enhancing the participation of women and advocate for gender parity in the society.
FAME foundation firmly believe that the entire nation, businesses, communities and groups can benefit from the implementation of programs and policies that adopt the notion of women empowerment.
Sierra Leone passed landmark legislation last week aimed at advancing women’s rights. “Now that we have a stable and peaceful Sierra Leone, we cannot afford to have women, who make up 52% of our population, not featuring prominently in politics and leadership,” said Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio. The law, called the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act (GEWE), requires public and private employers to reserve 30 percent of jobs for women, including leadership positions, and stipulates that 30 percent of candidates put forward by any political party for parliamentary and local elections must be female. It also extends maternity leave to fourteen weeks, mandates equal pay, and grants women equal access to financial support and training opportunities, among other provisions. The law includes significant repercussions for failure to comply. Manty Tarawalli, minister of gender and children’s affairs, lauded the GEWE, but noted, “More steps will have to be taken before the country can say fairness has been achieved across the genders.”