Under Mohammedan law applicable in Sierra Leone, women have no right to administer estates. Their rights in marriage and on divorce are very restricted. Under the general law, women are discriminated against in the distribution of estates and their children and grand-children, if not fathered by men of Negro African decent, face the prospect of being declared foreigners in their own country. Women are offered trifle or nothing at all as maintenance for their children or alimony. The girl child continues to be deprived of access to education.
Women are underrepresented in every sector of society, including parliament.
The plight of the Sierra Leonean woman is appalling and the future for the girls is horrendous. CGG therefore calls on the government, particularly the Ministry of Children and Gender Affairs, and Non-Governmental Organisations to pay more than lip service to the rights of women and girls. In recognition of the importance of women engaging in peace, Action Aid seeks to support a gendered approach to peace building. As an NGO we have a role to play in helping to ensure that women's political, legal and economical rights are embedded in new constitutions, policies and legislation emerging from the peace building process as well as in local peace making processes. However there is a dilemma here.