Misogyny, harassment, and intimidation run deep in Sierra Leone
W omen who fight for economic justice in Sierra Leone are often vilified and go unrecognized. But in the social media age, Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr has earned significant props as she's gained notoriety among Sierra Leonean men who seize every opportunity to berate and oppress women and girls. Aki-Sawyerr has been the Mayor of Freetown since taking office in May 2018, after winning 309,000 votes representing 59.92% of the votes in the mayoral election. She's a member of the All People's Congress (APC) political party—one of the two major political parties, alongside the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP), Aki-Sawyerr was recognized with an Ebola Gold Medal by the then-president of Sierra Leone, Ernest Bai Koroma, in 2015. Queen Elizabeth II made her an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2016. Aki-Sawyerr was on the list of the BBC's 100 Women (BBC), announced in November 2020. In February 2021, Time Magazine named her one of Time's "100 Next&quo