Women’s Legislative Caucus of the 55th Legislature Holds First Strategic Planning Retreat

Members of the Women’s Legislative Caucus of the 55th Legislature of Liberia concluded a two-day intensive strategic planning retreat, held in Margibi County on 26th and 27th April 2024, with a strengthened plan to enhance representation of women in politics and public life and achieve greater impact on gender equality and women empowerment in Liberia.

Ten female lawmakers including, President Pro-Tempore of the Liberian Senate, Senator Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence, who is also the Chairperson of the  Caucus; Senator Botoe Kanneh, Gbarpolu County; Senator Dabah Varpilah, Grand Cape Mount County; Representative Moima Briggs-Mensah, District Number 6, Bong County; Representative Julie Wiah, District Number 2, Lofa County; Representative Rugie Barry, District Number 1, Montserrado County; Representative Prescilla Cooper, District Number 5, Montserrado County; Representative Gbessie Sonii-Feika, District Number 3, Grand Cape Mount County; Representative Marie Johnson, District Number 2, Grand Gedeh County and Representative Bintu Massalay, District Number 1, Grand Cape Mount County, attended the strategic planning retreat.

Addressing the lawmakers, Ms. Comfort Lamptey, UN Women Liberia Country Representative described recent women political achievements in the Legislature, the election of three women in Grand Cape Mount (Representatives Bintu Massaley, Gbessie Sonii Feika and Senator Dabah Varpilah) and one representative (Hon. Marie Johnson) in Grand Gedeh for the first time, as historic: “We may not have gotten the result we hoped in the 2023 elections, but we saw historic gains, when you work together you can make a big difference. UN Women looks forward to working with the Women’s Legislative Caucus as well as the Senate Committee on Gender, Social Welfare and Women and Children Affairs, and House of Representatives Committee on Gender Equity, Child Development & Social Services to help you position yourselves to influence the passage of gender sensitive legislation and to achieve the objectives you define in your strategic plan,” said Ms. Lamptey.

Despite these gains, the numerical representation of women in the legislature remained at 10.7% following the 2023 General and Presidential Elections in Liberia. The level of participation for women remained low, with only 15.5% of candidates being women.  

In her opening remarks, Senator Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence explained that reviewing the Caucus’ strategic plan was a priority in the capacity building of women legislators. “The Legislature is a place to serve and make impact. We need to look carefully at our legislative agenda so that when we get close to elections, we can show our results and the country will be more interested in putting women in power because they will see the impact that women make.” 

Furthermore, Mr. Simon McCormack, Second Secretary of the Embassy of Ireland in Liberia, underscored the importance of continued collaboration to promote gender equality in the country. “We are proud of the partnership we have with the Women’s Legislative Caucus and UN Women and will continue to support women’s political participation in Liberia. This timely event comes not long after the recent peaceful elections. It offers an opportunity to reflect on the significant role of women not just in ensuring a peaceful electoral process but also the broader and meaningful participation of women at all levels,” said Mr. McCormack.

Dr. Anna Brzozowska, Governance Team Lead of the European Union Delegation to Liberia, congratulated the Women’s Legislative Caucus for initiating the strategic planning exercise to guide their work, noting that their work is essential for women in Liberia, and its continuity is vital.  While she praised Liberia for conducting a very successful election in which there was a peaceful transition of power, she expressed concern over the low number of elected women. She encouraged the Women’s Legislative Caucus to help improve the situation of women in politics. “You have the means to change something in the country for women especially vulnerable young women. Your role is important because you will have immense opportunity to influence how the budget is constructed,” she highlighted. Dr.  Brzozowska cited lack of access to education and business opportunities as the main hindrances to participation of women in politics and economy.

At the closing ceremony of the retreat, the EU Ambassador, Nona Deprez, explained that supporting gender equality is a priority in all European Union interventions because, “The participation and leadership of women is essential for democracy, justice, peace, security, and key to a sustainable development.” 

She outlined key aspects of the Liberia Electoral Support Project Plus (LESP+) and stated that the EU will continue to support governance institutions to redouble their efforts, taking into consideration the recommendations of the EU-Elections Observation Mission (EU-EOM) and the conclusions of the post-election lessons learnt exercise. She explained that the EU-EOM made 22 recommendations, and one of the priority recommendations is to adopt temporary special measures (gender quotas) to achieve gender equality in the legislature in line with Liberia’s commitments as a state party to a number of international and regional instruments. To support the Liberian Government, the LESP+ “support is foreseen to encourage all the interested parties to define a strategy and a concrete roadmap to advocate for the adoption of temporary special measures for women’s participation in electoral processes, and the appointment of women in leadership positions,” said Ambassador Deprez.

The Women's Legislative Caucus’s Strategic Plan will be implemented with the support of the Liberia Electoral Support Project Plus (LESP+) project (2023 – 2026). LESP+ is a post-election programme implemented by National Elections Commission (NEC), UNDP, UN Women, and Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD) and funded by the European Union, and Governments of Sweden and Ireland. The intervention includes institutional support and strengthening of the National Legislature including the Women's Legislative Caucus of Liberia and standing committees with oversight on gender equality to exercise leadership to promote a gender sensitive legislative agenda and advance women’s participation and representation in Liberia.