The Liberia Reform Movement (LRM), Civil Society Working Group (CSO) and partners have embarked on a major awareness campaign giving women more insights on land rights.
The dissemination of information about the recently passed Land Rights Act (LRA) with support from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), will be carried out by 10 selected individuals from CSOs and are expected to cover three counties namely, Margibi, Bomi and Grand Cape Mount respectively.
Speaking at the opening of the land reform regular meeting over the weekend, in Monrovia, the LRM Director, Aphanso Henries, explained that the intent of the awareness is to further curtail the numerous land rights violations occurring in rural communities across Liberia.
According to him, the awareness campaign embarked on by the LRA is very important especially as it is bordered on the poverty reduction strategy introduced by the last regime, indicating, “if women have the right to own land, the little produce she makes on that land will help in feeding several Liberians and even buttress government’s efforts in improving the country’s agriculture sector.”
Mr. Henries added that, it is hoped that the issues of the many land rights violations across the country will be minimized or eradicated at the end of the awareness, as he disclosed plans to continue the awareness in other counties.
The Acting Executive Director of the Organization for Women Empowerment (OWE), Aretha Kou Togbah, lauded the LRM for the project which she said will help to actualize poverty reduction and help keep women informed about their rights to own land.
She added that they as the implementing arm of the FAO hope to see that more women get informed about the LRA and other supporting laws on women’s ownership to lands in Liberia especially so that it helps reduce poverty and promote food security; Bill W. Cooper writes.