Sylvia Blyden Hails Fatima Bio’s Role in Sierra Leone Child Marriage Reforms

Former Minister of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs Dr. Sylvia Olayinka Blyden has recounted her 2016 presentation to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child in Geneva, and credited First Lady Fatima Maada Bio for later securing reforms to address child marriage in Sierra Leone.

In a statement dated June 3, 2026, Dr. Blyden said she addressed the 73rd Session of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in September 2016 in her capacity as Minister. She said her presentation covered child rights issues, including Sierra Leone’s approach to ending child circumcision and preventing the forced circumcision of adult women through the involvement of Bondo Soweis, practitioners of female circumcision.