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Gender Equality in Liberia


 * 1) Gender Violence
 * 2) Gender Roles

Final Article Contribution:

Gender Violence in Liberia

After the wars ended, the opening ceremony of the peace negotiations was held on June 4, 2003 in Ghana, Liberia. A significant issue during these negotiations for peace is that there were none addressing the sexual violence crimes suffered by both women and children, land rights or even a discussion to include women's rights to education, despite five women being present during these negotiations. Despite Liberia passing the Rape Amendment Act in 2006 to impose stricter punishments and offering no bail to accused rapists, it was found that many women's groups had never even seen the new law. One solution that was offered in December 2008 was the creation of a rape court in order to fast track rape cases to give the victims closure. However due to the weaknesses and corruptions of the court system, many victims and their families were reluctant to press charges due to the system ruling in favor of men. While this is a step to improve the quality of life for women it does not solve the problem of sexual violence.

Shifts toward Gender Equality for Women in Liberia

After the UN signed the peace treaty with Liberia in 2003, the gender roles that restricted women from achieving equality began to change. After the wars in Liberia ended, initially there was little to no participation from women in positions of power, organizations or in government. Now, there are over 100 women's organizations according to the Women's NGO Secretariat of Liberia (WONGOSOL). These organizations serve to feed funds to local powerful women leaders. In comparison to other countries affected by wars, women in Liberia have been successful in making their voices heard in politics despite male resistance. In terms of women in politics, Liberia had elected their first female president Ellen Sirleaf in 2006, a step toward progression in a developing country. Recently, the National Institute for Public Opinion (NIPO) has raised awareness of women empowerment and equality through organizing the 16 Days of Activism. Through this month long campaign, it brought awareness to the legalities women were entitled to both nationally and internationally as well as female participation in politics and policy making. On a more international scale, with assistance from Sweden, UN women have reached out to men to join the fight against gender based violence. As part of the campaign, twelve men were nominated to become ambassadors to bring awareness and encourage other men to take a stand against violence against women. While there has been some progress, in order to fulfill the MDG development goal of promoting gender equality and empowering women there are still some areas to improve on such as addressing the gender discrimination in law, unequal job opportunities and wage gaps as well as a lack of equal women's participation in decision making.