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 to advance women’s representation in governance and leadership.  

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

WSR is a women’s peace-building mechanism that 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 women’s political participation in national leadership and governance as a nonpartisan, neutral endeavor.

Experiences were cataloged following three days of deliberation, during which 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, traditional norms, cultural values, illiteracy, and limited support from fellow women as factors responsible for their limited participation in national leadership. 

Following the shared experiences, 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 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. 

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

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

“We are having this climax today to make the young people know that 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