Conservative Women's Organisation sets up new Dartford branch
A former Conservative election candidate is part of a new organisation celebrating women in the community.
Dr Sheun Oke, a mum-of-three, is using her platform to get the women of Dartford into politics.
The 43-year-old helped set up the Dartford Conservative Women's Organisation (DCWO) to help more women understand local government and how to get involved.
The DCWO representative moved to Dartford about five years ago and has been involved with the town ever since.
Dr Oke said: "The Conservative party has been part of Dartford for over 100 years but there was never anything available to give women a voice.
"We have made the Dartford Conservative Women's Organisation branch so we can improve the community, support families and allow them to have their say and give women a chance to speak out."
The CWO represents the female members of the Conservative Party in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Dr Oke has been a member of the Conservative Party for five years and was their candidate for Princes Ward at the 2019 local elections.
She was also the prospective parliamentary candidate for Poplar and Limehouse at the 2019 general election, but did not win these seats.
She is also an award-winning-author, following her book, SUPERGirl 2 SUPERWoman - The Ultimate Guide to Female Leadership.
Dr Oke said: "After our launch event we will be holding monthly virtual sessions so we can discuss with our members how to improve the community.
"We will be explaining what politics are and how they coincide with everyday life like bin collections. We want to show women how they can be involved with it.
"We'll have big events coming up such as International Women's Day and we will also organise fundraising and much more."
The organisation was due to launch last year, and because of lockdown Dr Oke and the team will be holding meetings virtually.
She said: "If you are from Dartford this organisation will give you a voice. Our launch event is free for everyone but we just ask that you register so we can get an idea of numbers.
"It will be held over Zoom and a question and answer session will be available."
After the free launch session, membership is £25 per year for those over 26 and £5 otherwise.
Dr Oke said: "We want to encourage everyone, young, old and of all sexes to join the organisation.
"We will help with confidence, teach members how to contact their local council and help with networking so we can support women."
The DCWO officially launches on Friday, January, 29 at 7pm.
Guest speakers include Dr Oke, national CWO chairman Fleur Butler, Dartford councillors Julie Osog and Tom Oliver and Dartford MP Gareth Johnson.
To register for the event click here or for more information find Dartford CWO on Facebook.