A/HRC/13/28 force consisting of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Gender and Children’s Affairs and civil society organization completed a draft national plan of action, due to be launched in March 2010. The Ministry established a secretariat for the preparation of the sixth report, to be submitted to the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. A gender donor coordination group has been set up to coordinate the activities to promote gender equality and women’s rights. The Government has expressed its commitment to address the high rate of maternal mortality; in November, the President declared that medical services for pregnant women and children under the age of 5 would be free by April 2010. 22. Despite the above-mentioned positive developments, women continue to suffer from exclusion and discrimination in various fields. During the 2009 chieftaincy elections, two women were denied the right to run for the position of paramount chief because of traditional and cultural beliefs. In June, it was reported that a woman in Kenema who went through all the necessary stages of recruitment for a position at the municipality office was denied a job because of her affiliation with a political party. The Human Rights Section brought this matter to the attention of the mayor, who later agreed to employ her. It was also reported that the criteria applied for distributing a scholarship in Birewa chiefdom in Makeni were discriminatory to girls. The scholarship was granted to boys on the basis of their academic performance, while girls were considered eligible only if they passed a virginity test. In July, at a meeting, the National Gender-Based Violence Committee expressed serious concern about this scheme, as the process of being tested for virginity itself dehumanized the girls. 23. Female genital mutilation and forceful initiation into secret societies continues to be a concern. In January, in Bo district, a 25-year-old woman was tortured and forcefully initiated by a gang of women for allegedly insulting a Bondo society member. Initially, the family support unit in Bo was reluctant to commence investigation into the matter, but following the subsequent intervention of a higher level police authority, four people were arrested. A United Nations Radio reporter working in Kenema reported in February that she had been humiliated by Bondo society members for having campaigned against female genital mutilation; she was stripped almost half naked and crowds of women chanted abusive and humiliating slogans at her. She was then paraded to the residence of the paramount chief in Kenema town. 24. Only one case of domestic violence has been prosecuted under the Domestic Violence Act 2007. Lack of access of women to the police, the exorbitant fees charged by medical officers and out of court settlements were some of the causes of the low prosecution rate. D. Socio-economic and cultural rights 25. The Government adopted a second poverty reduction strategy for the period 2009– 2012, which was contained in the Agenda for Change document, and outlined the following strategic priority areas: enhancing national electricity; developing the national transportation network; enhancing productivity in agriculture and fisheries; and sustaining human development, notably in health, education and water. Peace, security, human rights and good governance were identified as preconditions to achieve the strategic objective. In November, the Government presented the Agenda for Change during a consultative group meeting held in London, which was attended by development partners and investors. At the meeting, the Government and development partners agreed to work on a plan of action to implement the new aid policy and pledged to organize jointly an aid effectiveness forum early in 2010 to take this important agenda forward. 8 GE.10-10771