ABIC seeks women’s participation in national leadership

Liberian women crave for participation in national leadership, as they recount experiences from the 2023 election.

By Lincoln G. Peters 

Monrovia, Liberia, April 10, 2024—The Angie Brooks International Center for Women Empowerment, Leadership Development, International Peace and Security (ABIC), through its flagship program, the Women’s Situation Room (WSR), has cataloged dozens of challenges affecting women’s political participation across Liberia with the objective of advancing women’s representation in governance and leadership.  

The WSR’s objective is to promote peace before, during and after elections. It was established by current coordinator, Cllr. Dr. Cyvette Chelson-Wureh, and inaugurated by former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in 2017.

WSR is a women’s peace building mechanism, which seeks to mitigate conflict before, during and after elections in African countries. It mobilizes women in collaboration with youth to ensure their active participation in peaceful electoral processes and to advance political participation of women’s in national leadership and governance, as a non-partisan, neutral endeavor.

Experiences were cataloged following three days of deliberation at which time a cross-section of women, who participated in the 2023 Presidential and Legislative elections narrated their experiences. 

They named limited access to finance, denigrating speech and characterization by their male contenders, as well as traditional norms, and cultural valuea, illiteracy and limited support from fellow women, as factors responsible for their limited participation in national leadership. 

Following the various experiences shared, ABIC through its WSR cataloged the various experiences and promised to work on them to improve women’s participation in leadership and governance. 

The dialogue ended with a sporting event at the Invisible Sports Park, bringing brought together several young people from over sixteen communities in Montserrado County.

The tournament brought together participants from King-Gray, Clara Town, West-Point, Todee, and Bentol City, among others. 

Speaking during the kickoff, Jessie Talker, Finance Officer of ABIC said that the tournament is intended to involve young people in spreading the message of peace and unity across the country.

According to him, objective of the sports jamboree is to unify the country through mediation dialogue and sports with paramount focus of promoting peace and security. 

“We are having this climax today to make the young people know they are ambassadors of peace and unity. We decided to end the mediation dialogue with sports jamboree, particularly football and kickball, because it’s what Liberians love, and interestingly, peace unifies”, Mr. Talker noted. Editing by Jonathan Browne