…. As Liberia celebrates International Women’s Day Today
By: Leila B. Gbati
The Women of Liberia have called on the Government of Liberia to prioritize women empowerment as Liberia joins the rest of the world today March 8, 2024, to commemorate the 2024 edition of the International Women’s Day (IWD).
The International Women’s Day (IWD) grew out of efforts in the early 20th century to promote women’s rights, with the first IWD gathering in 1911 supported by over a. million people.
In an exclusive interview with several women on Thursday, March 7, 2024, in Monrovia, the women expressed excitement about the celebration of International Women’s Day (IWD).
Madam Yeyie Brooks a resident of Mamba Point who is into the foodstuff business said that it is good for Liberia to join the rest of the world in celebrating IWD but the women of Liberia need to be prioritized in terms of empowerment.
According to her, the National theme for the IWD celebration is empowerment as such most of the women of Liberia are single mothers who are struggling to survive and most especially to support their girl’s children in school.
“Some of us want to send our girl’s children to advanced school but because of poverty we cannot achieve that so, we are calling on the government of Liberia especially the First Lady and Second Lady of Liberia to seek our interest because they are women like us and they know what it takes to take care of children,” Madam Brooks said.
She indicated that they want to advance their children in education but their hands are short.
“We want you people to help us either by giving us loans to improve our business, scholarships for our children to go to school, or initiative training programs that we can learn different trades that will enable us to get a job and support our family,” said Madam Brooks.
Madam Brooks mentioned that they are not happy seeing their girls children in the streets roaming adding that “we want them to go to school or learn a trade but some of us don’t have the means because of that we find our girls in the ghettos and motels so we are asking these people especially our President Joseph Nyuma Boakai to put hands under us in this”.
Also speaking, Jestina Johnson a resident of Clara Town and a marketer at Waterside Market also pleaded with the government of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai to initiate programs for women, especially market women.
Jestina stressed that during former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s regime, there were a lot of empowerment programs for women which some of them benefited from but now nothing is happening for them the ordinary women.
“We used to take loans and pay with less interest and that used to help our business but now no program for us and our business sales are not like before because of this paying our children’s school fees is difficult. Things are not fine with us the women in the market”, she said.
Jestina also used the medium to appeal to the First and Second Lady of Liberia stressing that the women are already empowered in terms of business but they don’t have the support and that is why they are calling on this government to ensure that the women of Liberia are supported and prioritized.
For her part, Everlyn Menwon, a resident of Clara Town said that if women are empowered society stands to benefit a lot because women are caretakers of the homes and families.
“Prioritize women’s empowerment that is the way to go,” stressed Everlyn.
Meanwhile, Everlyn added that when women are empowered they become independent to take care of their families without looking up to their husbands.
“The men are not helping us and we are struggling single mothers who need to be rescued so this year’s IWD theme is good and we are hoping that as Liberia joins the rest of the world to celebrate this day we the women of Liberia will be a key priority for this government,” she asserted.
However, International Women’s Day is a global campaign commemorated every year in March, highlighting the amazing social, cultural, economic, and political achievements of women, while also campaigning for greater progress towards gender equality at all levels.
The Month of March is being historically recognized as Women’s Month, thus promoting activities and advocacies that exclusively focus on women’s agenda and a way forward in tackling women’s issues and how to empower them in the coming years.
The global theme for this year’s celebration is “Invest in women: Accelerate Progress” while Liberia commemorates under a National Theme: “Empower Her, Empower Ladies and Gentlemen, the celebration and activities commemorating this year’s IWD cannot be overemphasized as it brings together “WOMEN CHANGE MAKERS” from diverse backgrounds to dialogue on the way forward in promoting women’s empowerment in all sectors.
Speaking on the celebration of the IWD, Minister of Gender Madam Gbeme Horace-Kollie at a press conference recently said that the world is facing many crises, ranging from geopolitical conflicts to soaring poverty levels and the escalating impacts of climate change and UN Women Global has warned that if current trends continue, more than 342 million women and girls could be living in extreme poverty by 2030 as such to confront these challenges and ensure women’s needs and priorities are considered, we must prioritize gender-responsive financing and increase public spending on essential services and social protection for women.
Madam Kollie said that the bold approach needs a robust and innovative way in which we can advance gender equality and the empowerment of women, particularly in the areas of providing women and girls with equal access to economic empowerment, as well as involving them in decision-making processes.
She stressed that multiple obstacles prevent women from breaking these barriers to financial opportunities. This calls for collaborative efforts amongst state and non-state actors as well as local and international partners, particularly those in the business of attracting economic opportunities for women, girls, and other marginalized groups. Our efforts must transcend political boundaries.
“Today, women earn 23% less than men globally, while at the same time, women occupy only 24% of parliamentary seats worldwide. 1 in 3 women have experienced physical/sexual violence. At this point, not one country can claim to have achieved gender equality because these multiple obstacles remain unchanged in laws and cultures. Therefore, the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection is making a rallying call for action,” said Madam Kollie.
-Happy International Women’s Day-
