MONROVIA – The National Union of Organizations for the Disabled (NUOD) is pressing for constitutionalizing of equality in the number of the sexes to form part of the leadership structure of each Liberian political party for the Country’s general elections.
“Only nine women were elected into the National Legislature, from the 2017 national elections, out of the total of hundred female candidates,” announced Madam Naomi B. Harris, NUOD’s president, to an assemblage of participants at a sensitization Program on mandatory “30-30 percent” ratio of men to women making up each political party’s leadership list to be sent to the National Elections Commission during national elections time.
NUOD is an independent group advocating for the rights of a Persons with Disabilities in Liberia.
The assembly at NUOD’s Head Office comprised of members of NUOD, representatives Disabled People’s Organizations (DPOs), representatives from The Carter Center, the National Commission for Disabilities, the Ministry of Labour, an Italian group on global disabilities (AIFO), among other location and International equality-promotion Organizations.
The program was held on February 5, 2020 at NUOD’s Head Office on 19th Street, Sinkor, Monrovia.
The male domination in the Liberian Parliament is chiefly due to financial status of female candidate, coupled with a general negative societal perception, said Madam (Amb.) Daintowan Pay-Bayee, a member of the African Youth with Disabilities and a former House of Representative candidate on the ticket of the Alternative National Congress (ANC) in the 2017 elections.
“Most of the eligible voters would want you to bribe them before they listen to you on Legislative elections. Most of us, female candidates, don’t have much money like our male counterparts,” she admitted.
On general societal perception, she gave her personal experiences on her motherhood and her disabilities, which some of her political opponents made an issue.
“When I was running for the House of Representative, for District thirteen, in 2017, somebody said ‘she has a baby without a father’; a guy said ‘I want to marry you,” she recounted.
Madam Pay-Bayee said she “professionally and calmly dealt with” the political taunts thrown at her by her political opponents.
“For the person who said I have a child without a father, I posted a photo of my child, me and his father on my Facebook page. On the guy who proposed to me, I told him, ‘I accept your proposal’, and I asked to arrange a meeting for us. He was shocked when he saw me standing before him at the religious center he had suggested we meet,” she narrated her political methodology to her peculiar political situation.
Anybody who wants to a political leader should “cry in her room, but smile outside,” Madam Pay-Bayee advised further on how to control one’s politically painful moods during national electoral campaign times.
The Executive Director of the Liberia Elections Observer Network (LEON), Mr. Amos William, said each male-dominated political party reserves its female members for only the “Women’s Wing” of the party, in spite of the women’s respective academic qualifications that suit them for leadership of the party.
“Other parties give the women only rosy titles—‘Friends of this, the male political leader, friends of that,” added Mr. William who is also president of the Federation of Liberia Youth (FLY)
Mr. William also asserted that matrimonial obligations of women are some of the factors that hinder their ascension to the top of leadership their respective political parties.
“Sometime, the party’s Caucus decides on urgent leadership meeting during late hours or dawn, when the woman is sleeping beside her husband. Leaving the house during such time puts the woman’s marriage at risk,” pointed the Head of LEON founded in 2017 and is made up of National Union of Organizations for the Disabled (NUOD), Crusader for Peace, Federation of Liberia Youth (FLY) and the Justice and Peace Commission (JPC)
NUOD and its partners on the 50-percent-at piece- quota for Legislative Representation should open the space with advocating for “20 percent” for women, suggested Madam Barbara Smith, The Carter Center’s representative, who did research on the document spoken on a the Meeting.
“If you ask for twenty-percent representation for women in political parties’ leadership structure now, you are gradually opening up the space for the thirty-percent for tomorrow,” she counseled.
Swedish Embassy’s representative, Madam Elvira Tillermann, Program Officer—Human Security, Second Secretary of the Swedish Embassy in Liberia, said her Country also experiences Legislative inequality.
“The Swedish Embassy in Liberia supports only projects of inclusivity in our host Country,” the Swede added.
“When Persons with Disabilities see their political or economic benefits from electing women to top leadership positions of political parties, they will support whoever woman comes out for their vote,” declared Mr. Jay Ray Kennedy, Ph.D., Senior Electoral Advisor at the Headquarters of The Carter Center, and member of the Organization’s delegation at the Meeting.
During the interactive segment of the Program, “ordinary participants” made inputs. Most of the contributions dwelled on “hatred among women”, which, the participants asserted, shows up during electoral time and cause defeat of women on top intra-party positions and national elections.
Ministry of Labour’s representative, Mrs. Ophelia Carpenter, Deputy Secretary General at the Ministry, advised participants to pick up the “women’s political representation issues where former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf left it.”
The Meeting on February 5, 2020 was a follow-up discussion to a National Consultative Forum on Liberia’s Electoral Laws under the Country’s constitution drawn in 1986. The Forum was held from the 22nd to the 24th of October, 2019 in Buchanan, the capital of Grand Bassa County. The “30-30 Political Representation” clause is captured in Section 4.5 of Article 31 of the “New Electoral Law”, which satisfies Liberia’s respects for “International obligation” to ensure equality of women with men on representation” at political party’s structure. The Forum was on a 36-page document—containing old Provisions and Amended versions—of the 1986 Constitution.