By Bill W. Cooper
As the 2023 general elections there are calls for Liberian women to be more courageous and fight for their political freedom.
Gbarpolu County Senator Botoe Kanneh is among members of the Women’s Legislative Caucus who is seriously challenging female aspirants and supporters to lift their fellow women who endeavor to occupy spaces for females’ equal representation in political spaces.
“To all of our women including our traditional women and those within the rural area, it is time to tighten your belts and be courageous to ensure that we all fight for women political liberation in order for women to be fully represented across government,” she said.
The Gbarpolu County Senator made the assertion on Monday, when she spoke at the start of a one day mediation dialogue with traditional leaders under the flagship program of the Women Situation Room (WSR) organized by Angie Brooks International Center (ABIC) in partnership with ZOA-Liberia.
Using the Gbarpolu County Senator situation in the 2020 Special Senatorial election as a case study, the project is also aimed at finding common ground between traditional practices and electoral process so that they cannot come in conflict with each other.
Sen. Kanneh also encouraged the traditional female leaders to be courageously strong and believe in themselves to join the revolution that will change the dynamics of Liberian politics in order to ensure that women voices are heard and that their plights are given attention and addressed.
According to Sen. Kanneh, there are too many challenges and disadvantages against women that are willing and ready to change the status quo by contesting for elected political offices but that can only happen when women are ready to challenge their male counterpart and ignored the threat, humiliation, intimation and harassment that will come from their male counterpart.
Narrating her election experience to the women Sen. Kanneh urged the women to believe in God and established good relationships with their fellow women and others but added that because women do not support each other, most women fail and do not interact with their fellow women until they are ready to contest for elected position.
“I was a dry meat seller and cook bowl seller that never even thought of venturing into politics but over the years, I serve as a humanitarian and through this process, the same people that I have been serving chose me,” she expressed.
“I told them no but later I accepted after they put me in jail on grounds that I was supporting the people in the bush. Look, sometimes, when you are not molested, insulted and harassed, you will not be strong. During election, women had too many names,” she explained.
Sen. Kanneh further indicated, “During my pre-campaigning, they put out country devil on many occasions and I went through all those tough times and I came through. With all that, the women of Liberia stood with me. They arrested the ballot boxes and put devil out again for me.”
She concluded, “Many of my supporters was beaten and hurt that even up to today and I am still paying hospital bills for some of them. I crossed 52 hills but with all the insults and intimidations, I stand strong and came out victorious.”
Meanwhile, Bong County District 6 Representative, Moima Briggs Mensah called on the women to join their quest for increased women participation at the Legislature in order to ensure that the plights of women are not ignored by the majority of the men.
According to her, women political career are killed only because potential women who contested before and did not win are given appointed jobs and through that they are mostly encouraged to support another candidate and forget about their dreams
“When women come together things will change at the legislature as we did in many homes. It pains my hearts when I take a walk at the Hotel Africa beach and see our children between 15-16 years smoking and nothing is being done about it,” the female lawmaker stated.
“So, it is time that we as mothers begin to do something about it and make sure that the Senate passes the Drug Law. Women let us wake up. We are no longer interested in 30 percent but 50 percent so that decisions made protect all,” Rep. Mensah said.
The program which was held at the Cecil Dennis conference room at the Ministry of foreign Affairs brought together over 100 chiefs from Bong County, Montserrado County and several community chairpersons across Montserrado County.
With support from the United Nation Peacebuilding Fund, the project is title “Sustainable and inclusive peace in Liberia through promoting women leadership and the participation in civic and political life and their strengthened role in conflict resolution.”
Others gracing the initiative were several prominent women including former National Election Commission chairperson, Cllr. Francis Johnson Morris; Former Minister of Foreign Affairs Olubanke King Akerele; Gbarpolu County Senator, Botoe Kanneh; Bong County district 6 Representative, Moima Briggs Mensiah; former Education Minister, Evelyn Kandakai; United Nations senior Gender Advisor, Comfort Lamprey, amongst others.
