The President of the Parliamentary Female Caucus, Hon. Bernadette Wuyata Songa on Thursday 6th March, 2025 strongly advised women in Sierra Leone to come forward to build their capacity in order to gain more positions of trust.

The lawmaker made the call during the two-day high level policy dialogue Forum in commemoration of the International Women’s Day, at the Miatta Conference Center in Freetown, on the Theme: “For ALL Women and Girls, Rights, Equality and Empowerment.”

Hon. Wuyata Songa said the struggle women go through is endless, but they continue to stand to the challenges. She recalled the struggles women went through in the Fifth Parliament to be reelected.

She made reference to the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Bill that was passed into law, which eventually made it possible for more women to represent their people. The eloquent politician emphatically underscored that the capacity building of women is a strong yardstick for women representation. Hon. Songa stressed on quality education for all women.

Speaking on the importance of budgetary allocation for gender empowerment in all MDAs, the legislator said it’s good to ensure that women are capacitated.

She used the opportunity to explain her experience in the Fifth Parliament and how some male parliamentarians used to intimidate her whenever she stood up to debate, but she overcame at the end.  She stressed on building the capacity of women with quality in order to come forward and represent their people in governance and other spheres of life.

“How do we sustain the gains made in women’s representation in governance?” she asked. The MP advised compatriots and donor partners to address the loopholes identified in women representation and bring solutions for more women to gain positions of trust.

She emphasized that Parliament is committed to ensuring that women’s capacities are built in order to gain more opportunities.

The MP called on all and sundry to sustain the gains made by women in governance and progress.