Published: October 16, 2025
GRAND CAPE MOUNT/BOMI COUNTIES — Rural women in western Liberia are calling on President Joseph Nyuma Boakai and his administration to prioritize financial empowerment and market infrastructure for women farmers and traders struggling across the region.
At a mass citizens’ gathering in Grand Cape Mount County, Madam Sando Daffah, Vice President of the county’s Rural Women Association, made a passionate appeal for urgent government action to address what she described as “worsening hardship” and “economic exclusion.”
“We are calling on President Boakai, through the Ministry of Gender, to stand with the women of Cape Mount,” Madam Daffah said. “We need financial empowerment and proper market structures to sell our farm produce. Without this, our struggle will only increase.”
‘We Voted for Change’
Daffah said women across Grand Cape Mount overwhelmingly supported the Unity Party–led government during the 2023 elections, hoping to see real investment in rural livelihoods.
“We voted for change because we want transformation from poverty to better living conditions,” she said. “We are counting on Senator Varpilah to carry our voices directly to President Boakai.”
She added that women in farming and petty trade feel sidelined from national development discussions and urged the government to expand microfinance initiatives and improve local marketplaces.
Bomi Women Decry Neglect
In neighboring Bomi County, Madam Miatta Sirleaf, the women’s spokesperson for Gbarmabonay Town between Tehr and Suehn Mecca districts, expressed similar frustration, accusing both county and national leaders of neglect.
“It is a disservice to us as citizens that government officials only visit when they need our votes,” Madam Sirleaf said. “After elections, we are abandoned. Meanwhile, our women continue to live in hardship with no recognition from the authorities.”
She said most women in her community depend on cassava farming, palm oil processing, and vegetable cultivation, but their efforts are constrained by a lack of credit, storage facilities, and access to markets.
Call for Broader Assistance
Madam Sirleaf appealed to lawmakers, local authorities, humanitarian groups, and microfinance institutions such as BRAC Liberia to launch small business loan programs and farming support initiatives.
“What we need is empowerment,” she emphasized. “If we are supported, we can feed our families, send our children to school, and contribute meaningfully to national development.”
A Broader Picture of Rural Discontent
The demands from Daffah and Sirleaf reflect a wider sentiment among rural women in western Liberia who say they have been left behind in the country’s postwar recovery, despite their central role in agriculture and community resilience.
As the Boakai administration accelerates its development programs under the ARREST Agenda, many in Grand Cape Mount and Bomi hope that women’s economic inclusion, through credit schemes, capacity-building, and market investment, will move from political rhetoric to practical reality.
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