Veep Howard-Taylor Urges Women To Rekindle 2005 Spirit

Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor has urged women across the country to rekindle the zeal, dedication, enthusiasm and togetherness exhibited in 2005 that led the election of Africa first female president in person of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.The veteran politician spoke recently at the official launch and induction ceremony of the Liberian Women Leaders Network; where she served as the Chief Launcher of the initiative that seeks to empower women and create parity in leadership.
She explained that the 2005 spirit saw women uniting against parties, families, long existing norms, social bearers and many other negative forces but sticking together for a common goal that was successfully accomplished.
“Where is the 2005 spirit, and how is it now that we have just nine seats out of 173 in the House and one Senator out of 30 in the Senate,” she asked with a rather frustrated voice intended to arise the consciences of women and get them to work again.
The former Bong County Senator pleaded with women of Liberia to put away all forms of vindictiveness which are counterproductive but rather form solidarity groups that will serve as cohesion among them because the only way they can achieve their vision or objective is to selflessly work together again.
VP Taylor stressed the need of getting more seats in the legislature as the sure way of effecting a genuine or tangible change in the issues that concern women because a male dominated legislature will not pass many of the bills that promote women’s interest.
Further arising the interest and consciences of women to leave their comfort zones or dispelling all fears that they may have being harboring for leadership or governance, she said “where the women are as 2020 Senatorial election is fast approaching?”
She added that gender parity or 50-50 in politics is achievable for two important reasons: firstly the Constitution made the provision when it said there should be equal representation and secondly the women have the electoral power which is numbers referring to the 2017 elections data that place women at 49 percent registered voters.
Also as she inducted members of the organization, former president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf encouraged the women to once again climb the mountains, streams, rivers, assiduously working against all bearers to realize their dreams; “you did it before and you can do it again,” she admonished.
“We did not form his initiative to take the place of men or push men at the back but rather to create the space to work together as equal partners,” clarified Liberia’s Peace Laureate Leymah Gbowee, dispelling any malice that might be harbored by their male counter-parts.
Gbowee who was among members that were inducted cautioned her colleagues to operate the organization as a natural and independent body rather than a breeding ground for political division and partisanship the like of Coalition for Democratic Change, Liberty Party, and Unity Party among others.
At the same time, UN Women Country Representative Marie Goreth Nizigama reaffirmed her organization’s commitment to supporting issues that affect women but also urged women to exert more efforts as there are 8 out of 15 counties with no women representatives.
She said one of the most important priorities of the Liberia Women Leaders Network is to create gender parity in political representation which places a tedious task on the women as they look forward to the 2020 senatorial election cautioning that if more is not done there could be a senate without women.
The Liberian Women Leaders Network (LWLN) is the local chapter of the African Women Leaders Network. The “African Women Leaders Network” (AWLN) is a ground-breaking movement of African women leaders which was launched on 2nd June 2017 as a joint initiative of the Office of the African Union’s Special Envoy on Women, Peace, and Security, and the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), with the support of the Federal Republic of Germany, through their representations in New York and in Addis Ababa.
The immediate focus of the Liberian chapter of the Network will be on women’s political participation and representation in governance & mentorship and women’s economic empowerment.
The Vision of the Network is to ‘Empowered and emancipated women of Liberia equally participating and represented in leadership positions in all spheres of governance and at all levels of society towards the meaningful transformation of lives and sustainable development.
In Liberia, gender equality and women empowerment remains unsatisfactory despite the immense contribution of Liberian women to the restoration of peace, after a long and protracted civil crisis; revival of the economy (where they dominate the informal sector); and reinstating traditional alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.
The LWLN, therefore, aims to make its contribution to the enhanced mobilization of Liberian women, in various sectors, to truly impact the road to sustainable peace and development in the continent.
The Strategic Steering Committee (SSC)of the LWLN, guided by the African Women Leaders Network, has embraced the following as the values which will underpin the initiatives of the Network: – Human Rights and dignity of women, Gender Equality, Inclusivity, Non-partisanship, Impartiality, Integrity, Solidarity, Partnership and Local ownership.