By Theresa Vamboi
The Northern Region Women’s Network (NRWN) on Friday 29th November 2019 offered prayers of thanksgiving at the Masjid Hamdallah at Naimbana Street as part of the first anniversary celebrations. The Network, which comprises fifty professional women drawn from various fields in society, also held their annual general meeting on Saturday 30th November 2019 where they discussed the successes, challenges and the way forward of the network, especially their strategic plan for the coming years.
The Chairperson of the Network, Mrs. Hossinatu Kanu Koroma said the Network was formed with the specific objective of supporting women and girls in the north to enable them to contribute meaningfully to national development. Her network, she said, is a non-political and non-governmental organization that is supporting and facilitating the transformation of women and girls in four key thematic areas: providing quality education and vocational training for women and girls in the North, establishing mentorship; guidance and counseling programs that will empower girls for their future careers; embarking on an advocacy drive for the protection of legal instruments on gender; and fostering agricultural production that will provide job opportunities and economic growth for women in the North.
She spoke about a thirteen year old girl that was raped by her uncle whom the network supported to get justice in the court of law. The girl, Mrs. Kanu Koroma said she will continue to receive support from the network in areas like continuing her education after giving birth and her baby will be taken care of by one of their members.
Delivering her sermon during the Friday Jumah prayers, the Chief Imam of Hamdallah Mosque, Sheik Abubakarr Conteh spoke on the topic “Living a Purposeful Life”. He lauded the network members for coming together to support women and girls in the north and added that they are obeying the instructions of the Holy Quran in giving thanks to the Almighty Allah. “Women are very precious in the lives of men. They are our mothers and sisters working very hard to develop their colleagues in the north,” he prayed to the Almighty Allah to prevent them from trouble and disappointments.
The Almighty Allah, Sheik Conteh said, gives women the right to take an active part in the development of their homes, families and the nation by extension, and warned that men should stop suppressing women or they will be punished by the Almighty Allah. “Islam gives women the right to express their views and work for the survival of humanity. He called on the women to continue with promoting the affairs of women and girls in the north and they should discourage those challenges affecting the region. “Continue to be agents for a positive change in the region for the development of our nation,” the Chief Imam advised and further admonished them not to do things beyond their scope.
“You should endeavor to stand for the truth and be united and work together to achieve your goals,” the Chief Imam said. He furthered that the network members should not relent in educating girls to prepare them well for a brighter future. “Education is very important to Islam. Please teach girls to have good morals in society so that they stand in a better position to replace you in your various fields in the future,” Sheik Abubakarr Conteh stated ending up offering prayers for the women and admonishing them to always be thankful to the Almighty Allah further encouraging other women to emulate their good examples.
