WHEN WOMEN decide to stage in Liberia, you get to see the height at which whatever they are protesting against has reached and the impact of their protest can never be over-emphasized.
TODAY, WE can boast that it was the protest of the Liberian women that paved the way for the sustained peace Liberia now enjoys.
IN 2011, Leymah Gbowee received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 for her work in leading a women’s peace movement that brought an end to the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003. That is the extent to which the advocacy of Liberian women has been recognized.
MANY OF THEIR peaceful protests which is usually characterized by they laying prostrate on and along major roads and sit-in action, has led to the championing of women’s and civil rights.
THE PRESSURE mounted by the Liberian women through peaceful protest during the late Angel Togba case cannot be forgotten.
THE WOMEN’S stance against rape and violence against women have also received much applause.
BUT WE ARE afraid that these women are now being used for purposes they are sometimes clueless about, often for political gains.
LAST THURSDAY, a group of women controlled by some officials of government including Nuwoe Scott, Assistant Minister for Insurance & Administration, staged a protest against Rep. Hanson Kiazolu at the Capitol for alleged rape, however, majority of the women did not even know why they were protesting.
“WE DON’T KNOW why they told us to come but they say every one of us who come will receive money so that’s why we came,” one of the protestors (name withheld) told FrontPageAfrica.
SEVERAL OTHERS told FrontPageAfrica they had no idea why they were transported to the Capitol.
THE WOMEN are believed to be from the Coalition of Women Political Parties which is headed by Asst. Min. Scott.
THE WOMEN, in their numbers, came in buses and were allowed entry into the courtyard of the Capitol; they chanted anti-rape slogans, accusing the lawmaker of being a rapist.
LITTLE DID THEY know they had to protest with placards and present a petition containing the reason for which they protest and their recommended remedy to the House.
BASICALLY, the women were calling for the investigation of Rep. Kiazolu whom they alleged raped his niece.
We call on various women groups to recognize that their role in society surpasses motherhood. They have proven to be and should remain the last straw holding society together. There, should they begin to compromise integrity for bread and butter, then we have reason to fear that our country is heading towards doom.
BUT DEBUNKING their allegation, the supposed victim who later came to the Capitol the same day, told reporters that protest was staged without her knowledge.
MASSA PRINCESS Kaizolu told reporters that the protest against the lawmaker who happens to be her uncle were unfounded and politically motivated.
“KIAZOLU IS a kind-hearted person lived with him since I was age zero and I am now 23 years old. All that is going on is a political makeup from his opponents. I can take oath that this is a lie. I have no issue with Kiazolu and will never,” she said.
This brings us wondering how serious to take these kinds of protest, especially by the women, any serious.
DEFINITELY, they’ve made some good strides through protest for the good of society, but when it becomes glaring that they are being used for political gains, then you know integrity has been compromised.
THIS IS WHY we call on various women groups to recognize that their role in society surpasses motherhood. They have proven to be and should remain the last straw holding society together. There, should they begin to compromise integrity for bread and butter, then we have reason to fear that our country is heading towards doom.