Published: July 14, 2025
MONROVIA– House Speaker Richard Koon wants Liberia’s Constitution changed to add 10 women-only seats to the Legislature, a move he says is crucial to fixing the country’s glaring gender gap in political representation.
Koon made the announcement during the Liberia National Inter-University Debate Championship in Monrovia, declaring the proposal as the most “concrete affirmative action” step Liberia could take to bring more women into national leadership. His comments were met with applause from the audience.
“This is the best affirmative action we can take,” Koon said. “We have only eight women out of 73 Representatives, and just three women in the Senate. We cannot sit by and watch this imbalance continue.”
The speaker, who represents Montserrado County District 11, said he intends to formally submit the proposal to the Legislature with the goal of establishing the new seats before the 2029 general elections. However, constitutional experts say the move faces a high legal threshold and significant political resistance.
Liberia’s Constitution currently caps House membership at 73 and contains no provision for gender-based seat allocation. Any constitutional change would require a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate and could trigger a national referendum.
Some Liberians have welcomed the proposal as overdue. Others have raised questions about its legality, effectiveness, and implementation. On social media, citizens expressed a mixture of support and skepticism. One commenter, Gabriel P. Johnson, suggested that Montserrado District 11 and Lofa District 1 be prioritized among the ten women-only seats. Others, like Brent, questioned whether the Constitution was even an obstacle to women contesting, arguing instead for more support to help women win existing seats.
Another critic, Joseph B. Koryon, asked where the additional seats would come from and whether the House would be expanded or districts redrawn.
The debate underscores Liberia’s ongoing struggle with gender equity in political representation. Despite being the first African country to elect a female president—Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in 2005—Liberia still has one of the lowest rates of female legislative participation in the region. Women currently occupy just 10.7 percent of seats in the bicameral Legislature.
In the House of Representatives, only eight women serve: Ellen Attoh-Wreh of Margibi District 3, who chairs the Women’s Legislative Caucus; Julie Fatorma Wiah of Lofa District 2; Rugie Barry of Montserrado District 1; Priscilla Abram-Cooper of Montserrado District 5; Bintu Massalay of Grand Cape Mount District 1; Gbessie Sonii-Feika of Grand Cape Mount District 3; Marie G. Johnson of Grand Gedeh District 2; and Moima Briggs-Mensah of Bong District 6.
The Senate includes three women: Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence of Grand Bassa County, who also serves as Senate President Pro Tempore; Dabah Varpilah of Grand Cape Mount County; and Botoe Kanneh of Gbarpolu County.
By contrast, other African countries have made significant strides through gender quotas and legal mandates. Rwanda leads the world with women holding 61 percent of its parliamentary seats. Senegal, with gender parity laws in place, has achieved 43 percent female legislative participation. Uganda has adopted district-based reserved seats for women, leading to a female representation rate of 34 percent.
Several female lawmakers in Liberia say they support the idea of structural change but caution that seat reservations alone are not enough. Rep. Ellen Attoh-Wreh emphasized the need for increased advocacy to ensure that legislation and national policies reflect the priorities of Liberian women. She said Liberia has made progress, but that “our numbers in the Legislature remain low,” and vowed to push for change in her role as chair of the Women’s Legislative Caucus.
Rep. Julie Fatorma Wiah of Lofa County said Liberia’s push for women’s empowerment must also address systemic barriers. She pointed to the need for financial support, internal party reforms, and cultural shifts that often prevent women from entering and surviving in politics.
Liberia has flirted with gender quota legislation in the past, most notably in 2023 when both chambers passed a bill mandating that political parties field at least 30 percent female candidates. That bill was ultimately vetoed by former President George Weah, who argued that it clashed with constitutional guarantees of open and equal participation.
Speaker Koon’s current proposal marks a more direct approach, seeking to embed gender balance into the constitutional framework of the Legislature. Still, analysts warn that the political road ahead will be steep.
“A constitutional amendment is no small task,” said one Monrovia-based political analyst. “It demands not only votes in the Legislature but real grassroots support from the public.”
Koon, however, remains undeterred, framing his proposal as a necessary correction to a long-standing injustice. “We cannot continue with less than 10 percent female participation,” he said. “This proposal to create 10 additional seats exclusively for women is the boldest affirmative action we can take.”
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