Gender Equality: The unending debate about Women Empowerment Part I
- juweejr2017
- Sep 21, 2019
- 4 min read
As the world strives to have a society where everyone is given equal access to opportunities regardless of their sexual orientation, it seems many people within the Liberian society are yet to understand what gender equality is, or perhaps it is being misunderstood.
According to UNFPA, gender equality is the process of being fair to women and men and that the overall objectives of gender equality are a society in which women and men can enjoy the same opportunities, rights, and obligations in ALL spheres of life.
For a time in memorial, Liberian women have
been resilient in contributing to all aspects of our country, with one of the recent and notable one being the role played during the end of the 14 years of deadly civil war in 2003, yet they (women) are still being underestimated by men.
One would argue that, that is due to the usual African traditions which for centuries considered women as people who should be homemakers rather than participating in politics, however, with global call for the empowerment of women, it is about time we start to actualize and implement some of these pledges and international treaty which call for equal rights and participation in decision making we as a country affixed our signatures.
The UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women ratified in 1984, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, signed in 1967 and ratified in 2004 among others are few of the treaties.
One would have thought that after electing the Continent's and Country's first democratically elected female president; Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, there would have been some changes in perceptions toward female leadership but on the contrary, it seems like women especially those in politics are even more exposed and being discriminated against on the basis of their sex.
Not surprisingly though, there has been some reduction in the representation of women in national leadership.
According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Liberia ranks 152 out of 193 countries in terms of women representation in the Legislature. From the 2017 general and presidential elections, women in parliament accounted for 9 out of the 73 seats which constitute 12.3% for the lower house while as of the 2014 Senatorial elections, the upper house had three (3) women out of the thirty (30) seats which constitute 10.0 %.
That number dropped to only one after the current Vice President ( Jewel Howard Taylor) who was a senator then got elected along with President George M. Weah in 2017 and the unfortunate passing of former Monsterrado County Senator Geraldine Doe Sheriff in February of this year, leaving only the current Grand Bassa County senator
Nyonblee Karnga Lawrence as the lone female senator pending another by-election in Grand Cape Mount in October where two females are contesting for the vacant seat of the Late Unity Party senator Edward Dagoseh.
Liberia's current population is estimated at 4.9 million people of which women make up a significant number and if we must make progress as a country, we must be willing to have an open space for everyone to be able to exercise their fundamental rights.
Women in political positions or wanting to venture in it are not only under-supported, but high standards are also set when it comes to qualifications as compared to their male counters. They are expected to be angels while men of no morals are sometimes praised even after doing worst than a lady.
They are also faced with numerous challenges and threats at all levels ranging from campus-based, community, political parties, and national politics.
Women receive the worst types of political campaigns. Sadly, even their fellow women bully and insult them instead of supporting them. The just ended by-election was one display of how women are disrespected by each other and their male counterparts in the name of politics. At one of the debates organized by Liberia Media for Democratic Initiatives, we saw two females Macdella Cooper, an Independent candidate and Paulita C. Wie, a candidate of the ruling Coalition of Democratic Change (CDC) engaged in harsh exchanges. Instead of sticking to the issues of the campaign, candidate Paulita Wie of the ruling party was constantly mocked because of her appearances on social media.
Telia Urey, a candidate for the district 15 by-elections went under serious social media and verbal attacks. Being young and a female who aspires for political leadership made her a target for those who opposed her politically including President George Weah whose claims of being a Feminist in chief and a supporter of gender equality were undermined by his outbursts against candidate Wie when he had gone to launch the campaign of his party candidates.
If we are to make advancement as a nation, we must sincerely commit ourselves and allow our actions to go in line with our words. Women MUST be supportive of each other. The empowerment of women should not be one of those political statements by the few women who are in national leadership as a means of gaining political favors.
No country, especially one like ours will have sustainable development where half of its population is under-powered.
We observed stark hypocrisy on the part of key stake holders during the period of the by election that was held in Montserrado during the Month of July; members of the ruling Party campaigned on the platform of voting for women only when it served them; because their candidate was a female but were seen verbally attacking other women candidates especially candidate Urey of the Collaboration of Political Parties(CPP).
Asata Dukuly is an aspiring journalist who is passionate about children, women and environmental issues. She writes on issues affecting society and hopes others can learn.
Contacts: 0881044035/0770347449 Email: adukuly.ad@gmail.com
Nice piece. You couldn't have said better then this.