RIGHTS-LIBERIA: Women Demand Greater Participation in Politics

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Abdullah Dukuly

MONROVIA, Sep 20 2004 (IPS) - With general elections slated for next year, Liberian women – staunch advocates for peace in their homeland – are demanding greater participation in their country’s male-dominated politics.

They presented their resolution to parliamentary Speaker George Dweh last week, calling for a reform of the electoral law to allow them a fair chance to participate in national politics.

‘’We are demanding that every political party that qualifies for the elections earmark a minimum of 30 percent seats for women in their candidates’ list. Also every political party that qualifies for the electoral process earmark a minimum of 30 percent representation for women in decision-making positions within their parties,’’ says Lema Gbowen, a women’s right activist.

Liberian women, who make up 51 percent of the country’s 3.5 million people, feel marginalised in the decision-making process. Article 28 of the peace accord – designed to end Liberia’s latest war – signed in Ghana in August last year provides for gender equality in national politics.

But parties to the agreement do not appear to ensure that appointments and representations within the government fully cover gender and national balance.

Of the 75 members of parliament, only four are women. And there are just three women ministers in a 21-member cabinet portfolio.

The resolution read by Gender Minister Varbah Gayflor said the women believe that if the elections law before the legislature is not reviewed and adjusted, they will continue to be denied their basic rights.

The women say an electoral law that incorporates their demands will not only achieve their goal of full and equal representation in the electoral process, but it ‘’will also significantly contribute to a new, cohesive, unified, democratic and vibrant society’’.

Political commentators believe that the women are not only demanding for greater participation in decision making, but also for political emancipation.

Dweh said parliament supports the women’s cause. ‘’You are proactive in political activities in this country. Whatever you want, we’ll make sure you get it. We’ll stand by you to get not only 30 but 40 percent of what you’re asking for. We’re looking up to you to even take the presidency,’’ he said.

The petition triggered a heated debate in parliament when it came up for hearing on Sep. 17. Several legislators opposed the women’s demand.

Deputy speaker Eddington Varmah says Liberia’s constitution did not marginalise anyone. He said he would not be a part of those who would tamper with the constitution in favor of a particular group of people.

The debate continued outside the corridors of parliament, where Pentecostal priest Christian Chea said: ‘’If we (agree to quota system), it will be as if we are giving (women) gifts that they do not merit.’’

Social commentator KH Morris of the University of Liberia also disagreed that women were being sidelined in Liberia. ‘’The state power once went into the hands of a woman, Ruth Perry’’, he said. Perry ruled the West African country between 1996 and 1997.

‘’I believe in time to come, more women will achieve what they ought to and what they need to. But we should not just make a quota system out of that: for it will denigrate their ability,’’ he added.

The women want a definite clause within the electoral law that will pressure all the groups to recognise the role they continue to play in Liberia.

The new electoral law now before parliament failed to recognise that women were particularly affected by the consequences of Liberia’s 1989-1996 civil conflict.

During the war, the women brazed the bullets and gross abuses, including rape to forage for food for their children and husbands who were kept in hiding. They were also in the forefront of all the advocacies and activism for peace in Liberia.

Although they were often ignored by the government of former president Charles Taylor, the women were relentless in their advocacy for peace and good governance. ‘’We’ll make a great difference if we are placed in positions of authority,’’ Gbowe contended.

The women say most men in the government got their positions on silver platter. ‘’We’re not saying give it to us come 2005 (elections) on silver platter. We are saying let there be law – let the women be recognised by stakeholders within these laws,’’ says Josephine Nimely, a civil rights activist, in the capital Monrovia.

‘’Lets give the women the opportunity so they can move ahead,’’ she says.

Gender Minister Gayflor told IPS Saturday: ‘’We (the women) will no longer forfeit our rights.’’

Cecelia Massaquoi, a human rights activist, regrets most women are not assertive. But she believes women ‘’are getting there. After a violent conflict, a special position should be made in law for women because the result of conflict on women is quite different from men.’’

But Andrew Lamin, a civil servant, fears that if the quota system of 30 percent for women is accepted, community interest may enter the fray with the largest ethnic group demanding a larger percentage of positions in the government.

‘’If we give in to the demand of the women now everybody will be demanding their own percentage of the quota system,’’ he argued.

Peter Tarley, a university student, urged women to pursue higher education to qualify for positions in government. ‘’They must strive for qualification and empowerment as vehicles for them to excel. If we have more qualified women, they will take their seats on the table. We must do that by educating them. For a long time the women were kept out of school because they felt that they did not want to be a part of ‘this modern thing’,’’ he says.

Margret Boima, a private secretary at an industrial firm in Monrovia, is critical of a male leadership. ‘’Men have ruined this country and have turned power to tyranny. Men have exploited power into tyranny. Women can do even better. They can eliminate corruption. So they must join the women in achieving our goals,’’ she says.