Africa | Sierra Leone | Education

Sierra Leone girls forced into ‘degrading’ pregnancy tests

Thousands of schoolgirls in Sierra Leone have been forced to undergo humiliating and degrading public pregnancy tests since the government banned pregnant girls from attending mainstream schools and taking exams, Amnesty International said on Friday. Girls have had their breasts and stomachs felt by teachers and nurses in front of their peers and been forced to take urine tests, which has discouraged many girls from going to school, whether they are pregnant or not, according to the rights group. A ban on pregnant girls attending school has informally existed for a decade, but it was dec

Africa | Sierra Leone | Culture

Sierra Leone urged to ban FGM after backing women’s rights treaty

Source: Reuters

Sierra Leone's decision to back an international treaty on the rights of women in Africa could lead to a new law banning female genital mutilation (FGM) in a country where the practice is rife, campaigners said on Tuesday. The Ebola-hit country last week became one of the last West African nations to ratify the Maputo Protocol, which addresses a range of issues including FGM, violence against women, child and forced marriage, and women's economic empowerment. The treaty, which was first adopted by Mozambique in July 2003 and has been ratified by 37 African states to date, should compel S

Africa | Sierra Leone | Health

Sierra Leone fieldpost: ‘I believe Ebola victims deserve respect to the grave’

Source: theguardian

After surviving Ebola, Maseray Kamara made a vow to restore the dignity of women who die of the disease. She is now one of the first female undertakers in Sierra Leone. I am an Ebola survivor. My husband and my sister are not. They are among the 3,900 Ebola victims who have died in Sierra Leone in the year since the epidemic began. I am also one of the first female undertakers in Sierra Leone. In November last year, I travelled to Freetown see my family. While there, I visited a long-time friend, who didn’t know that he was in the early stages of Ebola. Shortly afterwards, I develop