Ghana: The Vice President of the Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia (AFELL), Cllr. Bowoulo Taylor Kelley has formally urged the Liberian National Legislature to expedite consideration and approval of the Women and Girls Protection Act, a Bill submitted by President Joseph Nyuma Boakai in October 2025.
In her submission, the Vice President stated the bill “arises from our national obligation to protect the dignity, rights, and health of all Liberians.” It comes as a decisive shift from non-binding measures to explicit criminalization, complete with penalties and victim support provisions, after years of advocacy from groups like the Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia (AFELL) and other human rights organizations.
Speaking as a panelist at the third convening of the Clooney Foundation for Justice’s “Waging Justice for Women” Fellowship in Ghana, Cllr. Kelley contributed to a discussion entitled “Strategic Litigation in Practice: Female Genital Mutilation.” She informed participants that Liberia currently lacks a distinct, standalone statute or comprehensive legal framework outlawing female genital mutilation (FGM).
Cllr. Kelley underscored that FGM represents a manifestation of discrimination and is rooted in systemic gender inequality. She identified FGM as a form of violence against women and girls. She further emphasised that the state is under an obligation to ensure the protection of all citizens from such harmful traditional practices as prohibited by the Liberian constitution.
AFELL’s Vice President further called on lawmakers to give urgent attention to the passage of the Bill, stressing that its enactment would enable Liberia to meet its treaty obligations under the African Charter and its Optional Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, as well as other pertinent international human rights instruments. She also commended President Joseph N. Boakai for his political commitment in presenting the draft Women and Girls Protection Bill to the legislature.
Cllr. Kelley’s call comes months after the House of Representatives postponed a final legislative decision on the bill. On Tuesday, November 18, 2025, the scene in the House plenary session descended into chaos and defiance, with a team of lawmakers chanting “No gay bill, no FGM bill!” According to them, they would block the “Harmful Practices” bill, unless a stalled bill targeting the LGBTQ+ community is given immediate priority and brought to the floor for debate.
The disorder began when the joint committee report on the Draft Women and Girls Protection Bill was presented. Representatives J. Marvin Cole of Bong County, Anthony Williams of Maryland County, and Yekeh Y. Kolubah of Montserrado County were among other lawmakers who pushed this effort. They screamed in unison: “No gay bill, no FGM bill! No gay bill, no FGM bill!” Bong County District #5 Representative Eugene Kollie later joined, “This bill will not appear here,” while Representative Yekeh Kolubah added, “This paper (bill) will never surface on this floor.”
Following the exchanges, a motion was proffered by the very same Representative J. Marvin Cole who had chanted against the bill. The plenary voted to send the Bill to all 73 electoral districts for nationwide citizen engagement. The House emphasized that the outreach would balance “human rights, cultural considerations, and national development priorities.”
The joint committee, chaired by Hon. Moima Briggs Mensah, had already signaled potential significant amendments to make the bill more palatable. Most notably, Briggs Mensah proposed renaming the legislation “The Women and Girls Protection Act of 2025,” reframing it from an attack on tradition to a proactive measure for safeguarding vulnerable citizens.
In other AFELL-related developments, Attorney Lauretta Mammah of the Clooney Foundation for Justice was recognised for successfully completing a one-year fellowship with AFELL. At a recent conference of human rights Lawyers held at the Alisa Hotel in Tema, Ghana, Attorney Bendu Kpoto was formally inducted as the new fellow for the upcoming year.
The Waging Justice for Women Fellowship is a distinguished program that empowers and supports women committed to advancing justice and human rights globally. The fellowship particularly focuses on regions where women’s rights are most at risk, cultivating a new generation of leaders in law, advocacy, and social reform. The Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia (AFELL) is among several institutions in Africa selected to serve as a host organisation for the Clooney Foundation for Justice’s Wagging Justice for Women fellowship program.
