Livewire - Amnesty International blogging for human rights

Mami Queen signing the petition ©Amnesty International

On our second day in Makeni, Irene and some of the mission delegates departed for Freetown. In the morning, a few of the delegates set off to Kamambai, a village 30 minutes outside Makeni. The village has a history of women’s empowerment.

In 2002, the “Mami Queen” (woman chief) was denied the right to vote in the chiefdom elections and a group of women united to protest against this decision. “Mami Queen” was arrested twice before they succeeded in making her vote count. Since then, women have had their voices heard.

After paying a protocol visit to the paramount chief, who allegedly celebrated his 104th birthday two days ago, we were warmly welcomed by a group of jubilant women. We spoke to them about Amnesty’s campaign on maternal mortality and they told us about the problems they face with regards to accessing maternal healthcare.

Deputy Mami Queen talks about about the challenges they face ©Amnesty International

The “Deputy Mami Queen” said that the government has not honoured its commitment to free care for pregnant women. Even though they know treatment is free, there are no doctors, medicine or equipment at the hospitals. Women are asked to pay a registration fee that they can’t afford.

While Kamabai is lucky to be on a straight road to Makeni hospital, surrounding villages aren’t, and many women die on the way. They mentioned they need a doctor in Kamambai region and a vehicle to take women to Makeni hospital in emergencies.

She asked Amnesty to ask the government to come back and educate and train Traditional Birth Attendants to refer women to health centres. “Deputy Mami Queen” also said that a large number of children die from malaria. She said that UNICEF has donated bed nets, but there are no monitoring systems in place to ensure that they are being used properly.

Following discussions with a number of women, we asked them to sign the petition and postcard urging the President to ensure access to health centres for pregnant women. Irene was meeting the Minister of Health in the afternoon and she could convey their messages to him.

As soon as we announced this, women surrounded us, all demanding postcards and petitions to sign. I have never experienced anything like it!

We spent the rest of the day training volunteers. Today we are having a meeting with local partners, and showing the film and play. We have a 5.30am start on Saturday to Kambia, a town in the north where we will have a launch event and meet with community leaders and partners.