After she was elected to much jubilation in late 2005, President Sirleaf made it a priority to greatly involve women in the arduous process of reconstruction. It didn?t take her long to prove true to her promise, and women now occupy key ministries ? including those of commerce, finance and justice. Mrs. Sirleaf also appointed women as five of Liberia?s 15 county superintendents.
In reality, women have long played central parts in Liberian life. Many took active part in the civil war, joining rebel groups and fighting the government forces of former President Charles Taylor. Indeed, some rebel units consisted wholly of women, and females received dubious recognition as some of the best guerilla fighters to participate in the war.
But women also made up a great percentage of those killed or maimed in the conflict, and the international community has largely credited Liberian women?s groups for eventually bringing about peace.
Now, President Sirleaf says their participation is crucial to the successful rebuilding of their damaged nation, which is still without such essential services as water and electricity and continues to languish in the economic doldrums, despite recent reforms and improvements.
But as women are rising to take their places alongside men in the reconstruction of Liberia, it must be remembered that many of them remain ?very traumatized,? says Juanita Jarrett, a veteran human rights activist in Monrovia and one of the country?s leading lawyers.
?The women of Liberia are women who suffered rape. They are women whose young sons and daughters were enticed into (being) gun-toting child soldiers. They are women who lost loved ones, who lost properties, who went from sleeping in their houses that they had worked for and built to being displaced. I was displaced; I was even taken out of line twice to be shot because they (the rebels) said I looked like a particular group, or tribe, that was being sought for during the wars,? recalls Jarrett, a founding member of West Africa?s Mano River Women?s Peace Network (MARWOPNET) a group that fosters peace-building in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
Jarrett, however, stresses that the women of Liberia aren?t looking for any excuses as to why they can?t take part in the reconstruction of their nation.
?When you see women now, playing a pivotal role, it?s because they feel that they have to let their voices be heard. They have to be part of the reconstruction, because they want a better, stable environment for themselves and for their children.?
She says President Sirleaf?s leadership continues to inspire all Liberians.
?It has raised the deserved profile of women. Because you know that during the war, women played a major role in the peace process. But they?ve never really been given the kind of exposure and the kind of recognition that their efforts (deserved). And having Mrs. Sirleaf as president right now just exposes Liberian women to so much recognition,? Jarrett reflects.
According to Hawah Goll-Kotchi, a deputy minister in Liberia?s ministry of education, the ?greatest effect? of Mrs. Sirleaf?s leadership has been girls returning to school ?en masse.?
?Education broke down during the war. But many schools have reopened, and the women are now taking their education seriously, because we can always point to Mrs. Sirleaf and say: ?Look what women can achieve, Goll-Kotchi says.
But Liberian women are doing ?far more? than enrolling in school, she says: ?There are just so many young women now that have gone into business. And I think it?s a process that?s going to gradually grow. And I think a lot of young women see Mrs.Sirleaf?s ascension to power as something positive and encouraging, given the fact that many of them are now going back to school.?
Jarrett says the true value of having a woman as the head of the country at this ?fragile? point in Liberia?s history may only be realized in years to come.
?Essential to Liberia?s reconstruction is obviously peace. I don?t think a man would?ve placed so much emphasis on reconciliation in Liberia as Mrs. Sirleaf has. The only way that a nation can prosper is if it is peaceful. Mrs. Sirleaf and the women leaders of Liberia realize this, and that?s why there?s so much emphasis on peace building. There are some men who say we are wasting time, that we should rather concentrate on reconstructing the economy first, and lastly on reconciliation. But we see it differently. Only by having mental reconciliation will our physical reconstruction be successful.?
Alomiza Ennos, a representative to Liberia?s House of Assembly and chairperson of the women?s caucus, says the war thrust ?independence? upon the nation?s women.