Minister Tarr Raps on Gender Balance At Books Before Boys Lecture Series

On Saturday, August 7, 2021, Gender, Children and Social Protection Minister Williametta E. Saydee-Tarr attended an ongoing capacity building lecture series organized by Libpedia and Book Before Boys Inc.

Libepdia is a media network committed to using digital media to advance the rights of marginalized groups and the partner institution (Books Before Boys Inc.) is a social justice movement that advocates for girls’ education and leads initiatives to reduce the rates of teenage pregnancy.

The lecture series which is styled ‘Go Girl Lead’ is hinged on building leadership abilities of girls in high schools to challenge the patriarchy from the grassroots and at the same time getting girls into the mentorship of accomplished women professionals who will help them navigate their careers.

According to the organizers, the Go Girl Lead is also aimed at inspiring girls to run successful election campaigns in their various schools as well as tackling teenage pregnancy and building young women’s political consciousness.

Delivering an hour long presentation on Gender Balanced Society at the Tubman High School located 12th Street, Sinkor, Monrovia -the Gender Boss, reminded the girls that Liberia has never been a gender balanced society since its establishment and or independence which both occurred from 1822-1847. The Minister stated that though initial existence and foundation of Liberia can be traced to the Trans-Atlantic slave trade which saw blacks being sold to sailors from the West in exchange for goods, women were already victims of discrimination and heinous crimes which were meted against the black race either by westerner or blacks themselves.

“The acts committed against women during the slave trade and the country’s pre-historic period were further exacerbated by the gruesome and indiscriminate killing of women, girls and children during the Liberian Civil Crises, which occurred between 1985-2003. Men were mostly the perpetrators of the rape, torture, beatings, killings and other forms of abuse which plagued our country’s conflict against their opposite gender. These are all proves that our society has never been a gender balanced one since its inception”. Minister Saydee-Tarr recounted.

Minister Tarr noted that up till today, gender equality and a gender balanced society still seem far from achieving because women and girls continue to be marginalized in all layers of the society.

“The road to a gender balanced society may seem long and turbulent but it all begins with changing the mindset and attitude of both women and men. As long as men are made to stop seeing women as less humans and as people who are entitled to protection, a voice that can equally contribute and as people who equally deserve a front role seat in decision making, we will begin to see a more gender balanced society”. The Gender Boss averred.

Liberia’s Gender Minister Saydee-Tarr pointed out that society must now endeavor to ensure that women are prioritized when it comes to education and empowerment opportunities and cautioned that without empowering women, the war against global poverty and achievement of a gender balanced society will certainly be lost.

She at the same time calls on Chiefs, Elders and members of the National Traditional Council to design new messages as to how women should be viewed. “Just like we are beginning to see signs of success in the fight against Female Genital Mutilation, the fight to achieve a gender balanced society can go in a very positive direction once the right messages are pushed through our traditional structures; we need to build a more vigilant, resilient and effective judiciary. We need more courts, better and stronger laws and unbending will to bring perpetrators of violence against women to justice. We must report cases of violence against women and girls as it will discourage men from preying on the opposite gender”. Gender, Children and Social Protection Minister expressed.

The Minister used the occasion to recount strives made by the government of Liberia in achieving a Gender Balanced Society which include amongst others: The Revised National Gender Policy (2018-2022), Domestic Violence Law (approved August 13, 2019), Anti-SGBV Roadmap, Land Rights ACT (July 2014), the Children’s Law of Liberia (2011), National Policy on Girls‟ Education, the 2nd Phase of the NAP on Women Peace and Security, Gender Responsive Planning and Budgeting Policy, the Pro Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development.

According to the Minister, the implementation of the National Gender Policy, the establishment of the Gender and Social Inclusion Units within Ministries, Agencies and Commissions to ensure the mainstreaming of gender issues within policies and planning implementations are ongoing. To date, efforts have been made to economically empower the women of Liberia through the provision of capacity-building and other entrepreneurial skill programs such as numeracy, literacy, vocational, and business development skills, as well as the establishment of village savings and loans associations to reduce poverty and increase women participation in decision-making.

Additionally, the Government of Liberia has finally launched the 50 Million African Women Speak Platform, a digital platform that can be used by women entrepreneurs to exchange ideas, foster peer-to-peer learning, mentoring and the sharing of information and knowledge, enabling access to financial services and market opportunities between urban and rural communities and across borders.

Under the “Sustaining peace and improving social cohesion through the promotion of rural employment opportunities for youth in conflict-prone areas Project”, Liberia is providing opportunities where young women have increased access to local conflict resolution mechanisms, with a focus on land disputes, and become active agents of peace; and to also provide women access to sustainable agricultural livelihoods, while addressing key drivers of conflict. About 46% of the beneficiaries are women.

Also, the Joint Program on Rural Women Economic Empowerment (2015-2018) with support from UN Women and WFP has improved the lives of two thousand seven hundred and fifty (2,750) women and men living in rural communities through capacity building and other entrepreneurial skill programs such as numeracy, literacy, vocational, and business development skills, as well as established eighty (80) village savings and loans associations to reduce poverty and increase women participation in decision-making with additional beneficiaries being identified by the World Food Programme for continuity.

Through the Economic Empowerment Program for Adolescent Girls and Young Women (EPAG), 4,500 persons have been trained in business development skills (4,300 girls and 200 boys) and placed into self- or wage-employments.

Minister Tarr shared the platform with the Vice Chairperson of Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission Cllr. Kanio Bai Gbala.

Photos Courtesy: Books Before Boys Inc.