The presentation on Liberia today really has opened my mind to another part of the world (this is why I love my major). You know, it may be surprising to some people, but the problems in Liberia are not that far off from problems that exist in the United States today. In fact, in some ways, they are eerily similar, especially within the gender roles in Liberia and the United States.
First off, let me begin by listing how women are perceived in Liberia in comparison to men. Women are clearly treated as lesser individuals in all aspects of society. To sum it up from the article Goran sent our class the other day, "Liberia's civil law system is patriarchal." In some ways, ours is too. Both Liberia and the U.S. are patriarchal societies, but that's a no-brainer. Not only that, but I know you're thinking, well, aren't almost ALL societies patriarchal? Yes, so let me keep going with the similarities and also say that one could compare Liberia with other nations/countries as well. I chose the U.S. because it is where I was born and raised and live today, along with the majority (if not all) of the students in the Gender and Conflict class. For me, it's the easiest to use for a comparison and the easiest for me to explain to others.
Moving back to comparisons by using quotes from the article, "Social attitudes tend to accept sexual crimes against women and children as one of life’s risks. For example, there is no domestic violence law in Liberia." Although we most certainly do have domestic violence laws in the U.S., we can definitely say that there are still many things pertaining to these situations that are corrupt in America. Take Slut Walks, for example. Why has this movement started? Because some people say that if a woman dresses in a "slutty" fashion, then she should "accept [a] sexual crime...as one of life's risks." Yes, it is a lower scale than in Liberia (by far), but it is still relevant in our society and worth noting.
Now let's talk about all of the amazing things women/women groups have been doing in Liberia during and after the civil wars that I've learned about from the discussion/presentation today (the Peace part of PACS). Women in Liberia have done things like organized marches, nonviolent protests, and even sex strikes during first civil war in order to have their voices heard in a very nonviolent way. During the second civil war, women were directly involved in negotiations for peace. Many women's organizations were combined to create Liberia Mass Action for Peace, and from there, they did things such as staged a sit in and signed a comprehensive peace agreement in 2003. Even after the many conflicts, the women/organizations are still active with workshops creating deadlines for the peace agreement in order to have actions be done in the near future. They have worked tirelessly educating members of their society about the peace agreement and what they can do to ensure movement on this process. I must say, it was absolutely inspiring to hear everything that many Liberian women are trying to do to move their rights forward. It's something we can all learn from.
Although I disagreed with how Liberian women were portrayed as a whole in the video, I absolutely loved some of the women who were interviewed and talking about their rights, specifically two of them. The first woman that caught my attention and earned my respect was one who mentioned that one point of their movements was to show that women can do other things and belong in other places rather than just cooking in the kitchen. It made me chuckle, but not because it was funny, but because it was interesting to me. Sometimes, it's easy to forget that other people feel the same way you do sometimes. Here, in the U.S., you hear all the time kitchen jokes with women and "making sandwiches" and things like that. That idea of a "woman's place" is not just here, but also in places like Liberia, which was, quite honestly, one of the last places I would have expected someone to make that comment about their society. Very eye-opening. However, the other woman did not surprise me as much with what she had to say. She simply just talked about how she and the women in Liberia are striving towards one day having equal rights, aka the same rights as men do. Her comment just reminded me how we have a lot of global work to do with something as simple and practical as everyone having the same rights. It's amazing to me how something so sensible is so hard to achieve ANYWHERE. It blows my mind.
Finally, Happy Election Day. I hope America keeps on pushing towards equal rights here.
First off, let me begin by listing how women are perceived in Liberia in comparison to men. Women are clearly treated as lesser individuals in all aspects of society. To sum it up from the article Goran sent our class the other day, "Liberia's civil law system is patriarchal." In some ways, ours is too. Both Liberia and the U.S. are patriarchal societies, but that's a no-brainer. Not only that, but I know you're thinking, well, aren't almost ALL societies patriarchal? Yes, so let me keep going with the similarities and also say that one could compare Liberia with other nations/countries as well. I chose the U.S. because it is where I was born and raised and live today, along with the majority (if not all) of the students in the Gender and Conflict class. For me, it's the easiest to use for a comparison and the easiest for me to explain to others.
Moving back to comparisons by using quotes from the article, "Social attitudes tend to accept sexual crimes against women and children as one of life’s risks. For example, there is no domestic violence law in Liberia." Although we most certainly do have domestic violence laws in the U.S., we can definitely say that there are still many things pertaining to these situations that are corrupt in America. Take Slut Walks, for example. Why has this movement started? Because some people say that if a woman dresses in a "slutty" fashion, then she should "accept [a] sexual crime...as one of life's risks." Yes, it is a lower scale than in Liberia (by far), but it is still relevant in our society and worth noting.
Now let's talk about all of the amazing things women/women groups have been doing in Liberia during and after the civil wars that I've learned about from the discussion/presentation today (the Peace part of PACS). Women in Liberia have done things like organized marches, nonviolent protests, and even sex strikes during first civil war in order to have their voices heard in a very nonviolent way. During the second civil war, women were directly involved in negotiations for peace. Many women's organizations were combined to create Liberia Mass Action for Peace, and from there, they did things such as staged a sit in and signed a comprehensive peace agreement in 2003. Even after the many conflicts, the women/organizations are still active with workshops creating deadlines for the peace agreement in order to have actions be done in the near future. They have worked tirelessly educating members of their society about the peace agreement and what they can do to ensure movement on this process. I must say, it was absolutely inspiring to hear everything that many Liberian women are trying to do to move their rights forward. It's something we can all learn from.
Although I disagreed with how Liberian women were portrayed as a whole in the video, I absolutely loved some of the women who were interviewed and talking about their rights, specifically two of them. The first woman that caught my attention and earned my respect was one who mentioned that one point of their movements was to show that women can do other things and belong in other places rather than just cooking in the kitchen. It made me chuckle, but not because it was funny, but because it was interesting to me. Sometimes, it's easy to forget that other people feel the same way you do sometimes. Here, in the U.S., you hear all the time kitchen jokes with women and "making sandwiches" and things like that. That idea of a "woman's place" is not just here, but also in places like Liberia, which was, quite honestly, one of the last places I would have expected someone to make that comment about their society. Very eye-opening. However, the other woman did not surprise me as much with what she had to say. She simply just talked about how she and the women in Liberia are striving towards one day having equal rights, aka the same rights as men do. Her comment just reminded me how we have a lot of global work to do with something as simple and practical as everyone having the same rights. It's amazing to me how something so sensible is so hard to achieve ANYWHERE. It blows my mind.
Finally, Happy Election Day. I hope America keeps on pushing towards equal rights here.
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