The Role of Women in Ending Liberia's Civil War

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The instability of Liberia for the last thirty years is at the heart of the action of women’s groups, and women have played a significant role in peace efforts surrounding Liberia's two civil wars.[1]

Contents

Chronology of the two Liberian civil wars

1989-1996: first Liberian civil war
2000-2003: second Liberian civil war

The particular situation of women in Liberia

The situation of women in Liberia could be seen as weak not only due to the importance of customary law in society but also due to the destabilising influence of civil war. The weight of tradition remains strong and married women have few rights within their family and within the society as a whole. At the same time, Liberian women have a particular situation as they are more educated than their counterparts in other African countries (for instance, the literacy ratio is one of the highest in Africa). As a result, women are very active on the political scene, the best example of this being the election of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf as President of Liberia in 2005, the first woman in Africa being elected as a head of State. Also, a Ministry of Gender and Development exists since 2001. [3]

For more information about gender in Liberia, visit the Wikigender page on Gender equality in Liberia.

Women’s initiatives during the two Liberian civil wars

Although their role was more substantial during the second Liberian civil war, women’s movements participated in the resolution of the first civil war. Throughout the two conflicts, their action consisted in many demonstrations against the different fighting groups. The strength of Liberian women’s movement lays in their peacefulness and the refusal to use violence, contrary to all of the other actors of the civil conflict. [4]

Focus on: AFELL

One of the most active women’s movements in Liberia was founded during the first Liberian war, remaining active during the two conflicts and since then. AFELL (Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia) is a group of female lawyers based in the capital city, Monrovia, representing women in the entire country. They focus in particular on cases of rape, as it is a common practice among soldiers during war time. With the Center for Abused Girls and Women, they documented the experiences of Liberian women during the war years. [5]

A major success of the association happened in 2000, when AFELL was granted the right to prosecute rape cases, whereas before this date, only state lawyers were allowed to prosecute criminal cases. AFELL was later able to influence legislation, in drafting a new legislative bill that increased the penalty linked to rape.[6]

AFELL’s work is very close to women, notably through its legal aid clinic in Monrovia. There, lawyers give daily advice to women victims of rape or gender violence. However, AFELL does not limit its fight to rape and war crimes. It is also working in the field of inheritance rights and customary law.[7]

Focus on: MARWOPNET

AFELL was not the only women’s group acting during the Liberian civil war. Another major women’s group, MARWOPNET (Mano River Women’s Peace Network), launched a program of shuttle democracy between the capitals of the three Manor River countries, Liberia, Leone Sierra Leone and Guinea. Liberia’s neighbouring countries played an important role during the conflict: for instance, many fighters took refuge in Guinea and Leone Sierra Leone during the first conflict. The importance of the region was even stronger during the second conflict, when Liberia was engaged in a regional conflict with Guinea and Sierra Leone that supported the rebels of LURD. [8]

Facing this regional conflict and the impact on women, Mano River’s women got together to solve the conflict in these three countries. Eventually, they succeeded in this task by having the three respective leaders of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea to meet in Rabat in 2002. On this subject an anecdote is reported by African Renewal [9]: when the MARWOPNET delegation went to Guinea to convince President Conté to come and sit at a table next to Charles Taylor, the President answered to their offer: “What man do you think would say that to me? Only a woman could do such a thing and get by with it.” He finally accepted to participate to the summit admitting: “Many people have tried to convince me to meet with President Taylor. Your commitment and your appeal have convinced me.”

For its achievements, MARWOPNET received the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights in 2003. [10]

Focus on: Women in Peacebuilding Network (WIPNET)

WIPNET is a women's association present in several countries of West Africa (Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria), created from the broader West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP). WANEP was created in 1998, facing the need for civil action to counter the civil conflicts raging in West Africa. WIPNET was created to ensure that women would not be submitted again to a patriarchal society following the end of the war. WIPNET upholds that women had a substantial role to play in the peacebuilding process, but they also had a role to play in the society as a whole. [11]

WIPNET’s women started acting from the beginning of the First Liberian Civil War, organising marches for peace and security from 1991 and attending the peace conference from 1993. The peak of their action happened during the second Liberian civil war, when WIPNET’s women met Charles Taylor and after long talks, convinced him to meet with the rebel forces. Strong of the numerous contacts they had in the neighbouring countries, they were able to organise a trip to Sierra Leone, meet the rebel leaders and convince them to participate in the meeting with Taylor. Thus, it was women’s actions that allowed the Accra summit – the peace summit – to happen. However, they were not invited to the peace talk and therefore they organised more demonstrations, but this time in Accra, Ghana, and joined by Ghanaian, Sierra Leonean and Nigerian women.[12]

When the 2003 peace agreement was signed, the actions of WIPNET went from resolving the conflict to building peace. An interesting example of the strength of these women can be found during this period: whereas the women were excluded from the disarmament process, they went themselves to the fighters camps to convince them to abandon their weapons. [13]

Finally, during the 2005 election campaign, women of WIPNET launched a campaign of registration, noting that many women were not registered to vote.[14]

PrayTheDevilBackToHell.jpg
WIPNET’s women different actions were featured in a 2008 documentary Pray the devil back to hell. This film focuses on the actions that took place during the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace Campaign. In particular, it follows the leaderships of Leymah Gbowee and Asatu Ben Kenneth. These two women were respectively members of Christian and Muslim associations and they decided to join their efforts towards peace. They organised sit-in, mass demonstrations and even a sex strike to protest against the war and make men react. [12]

Women in Liberia after the war

One of the most significant illustrations of the empowerment of women following the end of the Liberian civil war is the election of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf as President of Liberia. She has given an important place to women in her government, including at the head of the ministries of commerce, justice, finance, youth and sports and gender and development. [14]

2011 Nobel Peace Prize

In 2011 the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded jointly to three women including two Liberian women: Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee and Tawakul Karman of Yemen[15].They were recognised for their "non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work"[16].

"We cannot achieve democracy and lasting peace in the world unless women achieve the same opportunities as men to influence developments at all levels of society," said Nobel Committee chairman Thorbjorn Jagland in Oslo. Reading from the prize citation, he said the committee hoped the prize would "help to bring an end to the suppression of women that still occurs in many countries, and to realise the great potential for democracy and peace that women can represent".[17]


See also

References

  1. ↑ United States Institute of Peace (2007), Women’s Role in Liberia’s Reconstruction.
  2. ↑ Source: Timeline: Liberia - A Chronology of Key Events, by BBC News
  3. ↑ Africa Online, Gender Profile, Liberia
  4. ↑ Mary H. Moran and M. Anne Pitcher, "The 'Basket Case' and the 'Poster Child': Explaining the End of Civil Conflicts in Liberia and Mozambique" in Third World Quarterly, Vol. 25, No. 3 (2004), pp. 501-519
  5. ↑ Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia (AFELL) website
  6. ↑ Ibid.
  7. ↑ Drea Knufken, "From Learning to Legislation – AFELL Empowers Liberia’s Women" on Women News Network
  8. ↑ http://www.marwopnet.org/welcome.html MARWOPNET website.
  9. ↑ Michael Fleshman "African women struggle for a seat at the peace table" in Africa Renewal, Vol.16 #4 (February 2003), page 1
  10. ↑ All Africa.net press release: West Africa: MARWOPNET Awarded 2003 UN Prize in the Field of Human Rights (December 2003)
  11. ↑ WIPNET website
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 John Paul Lederach and Angela Jill Lederach, “Women of Liberia’s mass action for peace” in The Scavenger retrieved on February 28, 2011
  13. ↑ WIPNET website
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Women’s Role in Liberia Reconstruction , USIP briefing by Dorina Bekoe and Christina Parajon.
  15. ↑ "Nobel Peace Prize recognises women rights activists" BBC News Web site
  16. ↑ Nobel Prize Official Web site
  17. ↑ ibid.

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