MONROVIA — A groundbreaking gender transformative action coalition project, dubbed “Stronger Together,” has officially been launched by a consortium of five women’s advocacy groups. This initiative aims to build a robust and vibrant national women’s movement, significantly influencing key decision-making in Liberian society.
The consortium partners of the Stronger Together Project include Medica Liberia (ML), Women’s NGO Secretariat of Liberia (WONGOSOL), Liberia Feminist Forum (LFF), Radical Young Women Movement (RAYWOM), and Sisters 4 Sisters (S4S).
Grand Cape Mount County Senator and Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Dabah Varpilah, inaugurated the project on Wednesday, July 17, 2024, in Congo Town.
Reading the objectives of the Feminist Coalition Project, Madam Fenny Taylor-Diggs, Project Manager for Medica Liberia, emphasized the initiative’s goal to foster a strong and vibrant national women’s movement that influences structural, political, and social change towards greater equality in Liberia. The project will be carried out in Montserrado County, funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation Development of Germany (BMZ), and will last for three years (2024-2026).
The project aims to position the Feminist Coalition as a critical interest group and platform for including the gender perspective in political measures and legal reforms. It seeks to strengthen coalition members in implementing feminist leadership practices and strategies to enhance the safety of employees in women-led organizations. Additionally, it aims to boost the knowledge and analytical skills of relevant policymakers from a feminist intersectional perspective.
The intervention logic of the project is based on a theory of change, positing that sustainable progressive social change occurs when strong, self-organized, and diverse women’s organizations have the necessary resources, strategies, and structures to shape public and political debates. As part of a critical civil society, the project promotes improved political and legal mechanisms regarding gender-based discrimination and violence, holding relevant institutions accountable for their implementation.
Montserrado County has been selected for the project’s implementation, benefiting women, girls, and other marginalized persons affected or threatened by gender-based discrimination and violence. These individuals will benefit from social awareness-raising and improved legislation due to advocacy activities and campaigns conducted on their behalf.
At the macro level, the project involves the Ministries of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Health and Justice, Parliamentarians, and other government representatives. Women policymakers, women-led organizations campaigning for women’s rights and Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), and other actors in the Liberian women’s movement operate at the meso level. Representatives of women’s rights organizations at the district level, coordination platforms, and human rights defenders working for women’s rights and SGBV are involved at the micro level.
Regarding the implementation approach at the macro level, the project will monitor national legislation on gender equality and women’s protection. It will also collect, analyze, and disseminate data on women’s rights and SGBV and educate female political actors on existing legislation and feminist policies. At the meso level, the project will provide spaces and resources for feminist awareness, reflection, and leadership, promoting unification and co-creation within the feminist movement. It aims to build capacity for feminist analyses and progressive women’s policy agendas and facilitate intergenerational dialogue in the women’s rights movement. The project will offer training in monitoring, reporting, data collection, policy analysis, and advocacy from a feminist perspective, improve safety and protection for women’s rights activists, and strengthen women-led feminist networks for effective lobbying and accountability.
At the project’s official launch, Senator Dabah Varpilah highlighted the importance of collaboration among women’s groups, expressing her excitement about the project’s potential. “This is a laudable and pivotal movement for all women across the country. This project will seek the interest of Liberian women and girls and further be the voice of the voiceless,” Senator Varpilah stated.
The event saw support pledged by the Liberian government, international partners, civil society organizations, United Nations agencies, and other donors. It concluded with an intergenerational panel discussion under the theme, “Movement Building: Past, Present, Challenges, Lessons Learned, and Way Forward.”
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