Kono woman barred from becoming paramount chief

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1. Sierra Leone woman barred from becoming chief
Posted by: "fan...@aol.com" fan...@aol.com aiahfanday
Tue Dec 15, 2009 5:32 am (PST)




The chieftaincy battle in kono.
BBC NEWS
Sierra Leone woman barred from becoming chief

Elizabeth Simbiwa Sogbo-Tortu says she is fighting for all women

Members of a Sierra Leone traditional group have besieged a woman's
house and stopped her from going home after she launched a legal bid
to become a chief.

Elizabeth Simbiwa Sogbo-Tortu was barred from an election to the
chiefdom because she was a woman.

She lost an initial appeal against the ban - a ruling condemned by
women's rights groups who are vowing to take her case to the Supreme
Court.

A BBC correspondent says politicians are afraid of angering
traditionalists.

The BBC's Umaru Fofana in Freetown says the politicians also do not
want to antagonise women - making them afraid of the whole issue.

Women are barred from becoming chiefs in the Northern Province and
most of the east but they are allowed in southern Sierra Leone.

'Unlawful and wrong'

Ms Sogbo-Tortu was protected by armed police, UN officials and women's
rights campaigners when she tried to return to her home in the eastern
Kono district on Monday.

I was the only one denied the right to stand, despite being the eldest
and coming from a ruling house

Elizabeth Simbiwa Sogbo-Tortu

Should a woman become paramount chief?

But our reporter says the convoy had to turn around after they learnt
that her house had been besieged and her supporters targeted.

Members of the Poro secret society then threw stones at the convoy in
the town of Sewase 40km (25 miles) from the district capital Koidu
despite the presence of the security forces.

Ms Sogbo-Tortu is from a family of chiefs and after her
disqualification, her nephew was chosen to be the new chief of
Niminyama.

"Ten of us were in the race including my nephews, and I was the only
one denied the right to stand, despite being the eldest and coming
from a ruling house," Ms Sogbo-Tortu told the BBC.

"I want the courts to rule that it is my right as a woman to become
paramount chief in my home district. And this is not just about me. It
is about all women all over the country."

Yasmine Jusu-Sheriff, vice-chair of the Human Rights Commission told
the BBC that she would take the case to the Supreme Court.

"We think [the disqualification] is illegal and unlawful and wrong."

Our reporter says that the position of paramount chief remains
extremely powerful in Sierra Leone.

He says they command huge respect and are able to mobilise large
numbers of votes during elections.