– And Land Rights in Western Liberia
Liberia – Dozens of grassroots women leaders from western Liberia are now better equipped to advocate for their rights following an intensive training session on gender justice and human rights, organized by the Rural Integrated Center for Community Empowerment (RICCE). The event, held at the Bomi Women Center on Friday, August 22, has been widely applauded by participants for its transformative impact.
The daylong workshop brought together a coalition of key local actors, including members of the Western Region Women Network Association (WERWONA), women-led Community-Based Organizations (CBOs), Community Land Development and Management Committees (CLDMCs), and representatives from Project Affected Communities (PACs).
The training is a core component of RICCE’s grassroots empowerment initiative, designed to build a robust movement for gender equality. The curriculum provided a deep dive into critical concepts, including intersectionality, gender transformation, and the direct links between natural resource governance, climate justice, and women’s rights.
Participants described the session as an eye-opening experience that fundamentally reshaped their understanding of community advocacy. “Before this, I never saw how gender equality is related to how we access land and other resources,” shared one attendee. “RICCE has opened our eyes.”
Madam Lydia Ballah, Coordinator of WERWONA, underscored the practical value of the training for women navigating land issues and concessions. “This training is about our rights as women, especially concerning land rights and concessions,” Ballah stated. “We need to understand what is in these agreements. The training helps us to know our benefits and our rights as women in our communities and, most importantly, how to advocate for them.”
Facilitated by RICCE Program Manager Madam Renee N. Gibson, the workshop employed participatory learning tools, real-life case studies, and community-specific scenarios. This approach fostered active discussion and equipped attendees with practical skills to apply in their advocacy work.
A representative from a women-led CBO highlighted the new strategic perspective gained, noting, “We now understand the power of advocacy rooted in human rights and how to demand accountability through gender-sensitive approaches.”
The session concluded with a strong collective commitment from participants to continue their engagement and to advance gender equity and natural resource justice in their respective communities. There was a unified call to sustain the momentum and expand outreach to include even more grassroots women and marginalized groups who are often excluded from decision-making processes.
Madam Gibson expressed profound gratitude for the participants’ passion and engagement. “This is what transformative community empowerment looks like when local voices lead the charge for gender justice and equitable resource management,” she said. She further encouraged the women, stating, “The issues affecting women should be discussed by women. Be fully involved in community discussions; stand up and take the needed actions for your rights to be respected and your views considered.”
The training was funded by the Green Livelihoods Alliance (GLA) through the Green Forest Coalition (GFC) under its “Forest for a Just Future” programme. RICCE serves as the gender technical partner for the Liberia chapter of the GLA.
