ON SEPTEMBER 2, 2026, Liberian women had reason to celebrate. President Joseph Nyuma Boakai Sr. had elevated women to nine of the 19 core Cabinet positions—a historic 42.1 percent—and the administration rightly touted it as a milestone for inclusive governance. Women’s rights advocates, including the Feminist Coalition, joined in commending the President for demonstrating political will.
NINE DAYS LATER, that celebration has been cut short. The September 11 reshuffle, which relieved Madam Geraldine J. George as Minister of National Defense and Madam Magdalene E. Dagoseh as Minister of Commerce and Industry, has reduced female representation in the Cabinet from nine to seven.
THE HISTORIC HIGH has been undone. The picture that a girl in Grand Bassa had just begun to see—of what she is permitted to become—has been blurred once again. Mr. President, this is a grave mistake. And it must be corrected.
WE ACKNOWLEDGE, AS the Female Journalists Association of Liberia’s President Lisa Tenneh Diasay did at your Presidential Media Dinner, that you hold the authority to organize your government. No one disputes that. But as Diasay so aptly put it: “Inclusion is not a sentiment. It is a count.” And the count has fallen.
THE REASSIGNMENT OF Ministers George and Dagoseh to unspecified positions—with no announcement of what those positions will be—leaves disturbing uncertainty. Will their new roles carry the same weight and influence? Or will these capable women be shuffled to the margins while the administration’s stated commitment to gender equality becomes little more than rhetoric?
THE FEMINIST COALITION has asked the right question: “The more important question is whether women are being moved out of strategic decision-making spaces at a time when their representation in those spaces is being celebrated as progress.” Mr. President, we urge you to answer that question with action, not ambiguity.
THIS IS NOT merely about two individuals. It is about Liberia’s credibility—both domestically and internationally. Liberia has made binding commitments under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, and has developed a National Action Plan to strengthen women’s participation in conflict prevention, peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction. These commitments must be reflected not only in policy documents but in the actual composition of government.
THE REMOVAL OF a woman from the Ministry of National Defense—a strategic security portfolio—sends a particularly troubling message at a time when Liberia is working to deepen its Women, Peace and Security commitments. Similarly, women’s leadership at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry is critical to inclusive economic governance, given that Liberian women are heavily engaged in petty trade, markets, agriculture, entrepreneurship and cross-border commerce, yet face persistent barriers to finance, formalization and market access.
PROGRESS MUST BE not only by the number of women appointed, but by whether women are retained in positions of authority and given meaningful opportunities to shape decisions on peace, security, governance and economic development.
MR. PRESIDENT, WE call on you to do three things: First, ensure the immediate reassignment of Ministers George and Dagoseh to positions of comparable influence and responsibility. Vague promises are insufficient. Concrete, timely action is needed.
SECOND, ENSURE THAT future shortlists for Cabinet and other strategic positions reach your desk with qualified women already on them—not added as an afterthought. As Diasay urged, women must be placed where their competence still shapes policy.
THIRD, EXPAND WOMEN’S representation at all levels of government—including county, district and community levels—and across all sectors. Qualified women must have opportunities to lead in security, justice, economic governance, finance, infrastructure, natural resources, agriculture, technology, education, health, diplomacy and public administration. Women’s leadership must not be concentrated only in ministries traditionally associated with women and social issues.
THE FEMINIST COALITION has made clear that its position “is not about personalities or political affiliation,” but about “protecting and expanding women’s right to participate fully and meaningfully in the governance, peace, security and development of Liberia.” We share that position.
MR. PRESIDENT, YOU have an opportunity to demonstrate that your commitment to women’s inclusion is genuine and durable—not a fleeting gesture to be celebrated one week and erased the next. The women of Liberia are watching. The girls of Liberia are watching. And history is watching.
DO NOT LET it be said that under your administration, women gained a seat at the table only to have it pulled away. Reappoint these two capable women. Reappoint them now. And where possible, appoint more. Liberia cannot afford to move backward.
