Over 100 women from across Liberia gathered in Ganta last week in a consultative conference to brainstorm on issues on Women's rights and come up with a policy.
The conference under the banner, “9th Women’s Movement Building Consultative Conference” was held under the theme, “bridging the gap, fostering women’s solidarity, peacebuilding and inclusion.” The Consultative conference was organized by KVINNA till KVINNA Foundation, a Swedish-based international organization in collaboration with UN Women, Action Aid, Forum CIV, Medica Liberia, the office of the UNHCR and Care, among others.
Aisha Lai, Country Director of KVINNA Till KVINNA Liberia, said the women gathered to identify barriers to fostering solidarity amongst women, build a stronger women’s movement, and address critical challenges of intersectionality. “It is intended to build solidarity movement building to advance gender equality and equity,” she said. “We believe women’s participation in decision-making is fundamental to increasing their power and contributing to democratic and peaceful progress,” she said.
There are over 130 women, representing the 15 political subdivisions in attendance, and representatives from the 55th National Legislative Caucus, the diplomatic corps, and other partners. Some issues in the discussion include land rights, gender-based violence, women’s empowerment, access to justice, women’s participation in decision-making, and many more. One of the panelists noted that, since the land rights law was enacted into law in 2018, giving greater rights to women, it is yet to be practicalized.
“In 2018, Liberia made history by being the first to include women in the land rights opportunity in Africa,” said Florence Dorleh. “Liberia is the first to pass the All Inclusive Land Rights Laws, but it is yet to be practiced by the people.” Grace Scotland Briamah, one of the panelists, said that the women would brainstorm, looking at the gaps, and from there they would come up with action points, which will be presented to partners, the government, and other private entities.
“They are talking about economic empowerment, women’s land rights, and also requesting for a vocational school for those who did not go to school to have access to vocational training,” she said.
“We want women’s issues to be more alarming, where we will have more women in leadership,” said Rep. Moima Briggs Mensah. “The first thing we should do is encourage the other women that are not there, by making ourselves available and accessible, making sure to know their interests,” she said.
The conference ended on Friday, June 14, 2024, with a policy drafted for further submission to the government and partners. The first Consultative meeting was held in the year 2015, followed by subsequent Consultative meetings where women came together to discuss relevant matters confronting the women’s movement in Liberia.