-At ceremony In observance of rural women day
Women from across Liberia are pushing for more rights in acquiring ownership of land as compared to their male counterparts.
In observance of rural women land rights day held on Wednesday, September 25, the women voiced out, calling on the government and its partners to provide opportunities that will enhance their capacity in acquiring land or property void of hindrances.
The celebration coincided with the ongoing second national Land Conference in Ganta, Nimba County.
The Chairperson of the Civil Society Council of Liberia Ms. Loretta Pope Kai began the advocacy by calling for more support for rural women, youth and people with disabilities land rights.
She explained that the constitution I’d inclusive, but the implementation remains a challenge for the government and land actors.
“Our laws are clear and inclusive, it is also the best in Africa, but the implementation remains a challenge for us,” she said.
Madam Mina Beyan, Programme Director, Social Entrepreneurs for Sustainable Development/SESDev alluded that the voices of women, youth and people living with disabilities need to be heard.
She said youth, especially young women and rural women are farmers and so they need to be included in how land is managed.
The celebration was graced by women from all over Liberia, presiding local civil society organizations as well as international partners involved in land rights education for building up their capacities in knowing more about rights to owning land.
They also plead for more awareness on the involvement of young women on their rights to own land.
There were success stories from rural women from the education they acquired about land rights, where some of them said they were blind, but from the education, they now know their right to own land.
A lady from Grand Gedeh County explained that her parents did not born boy child, so when they died she had moved to her mother’s village because there was no way to take ownership of their fathers land.
She explained that from the lessons learned from the civil society organizations, she returned to her father’s village, where she was able to acquire some of the land for herself.
Many international partners, including Forum CIV, Rights + Resources, UNDP, UN Women, and among others spoke at the occasion, some through zoom.
The Ambassador of the Republic of Ireland, Claire Buckley, was also in attendance.
The Ministry of Gender was represented by Deputy Minister of Gender Atty Laura Golakeh.
However, the guest speaker of the event, Mmonbeydo Nadine Joah, began by saying Liberia’s legal system reflected the nation’s social and political history – a blend of indigenous African customary practices and received Angle – American laws.
She said this common law system surpassed the African customary system in terms of structure and practice.
“Arguably,” she said, “the extensive inequality that has persisted in Liberia society for an extended period is reflected in the common law’s dominance over African customary law”.
“There are many narratives surrounding the first acquisition of land by the settlers which have continued to shape our legal system today,” she said.
She explained that when the first settlers arrived in Liberia, they fought to secure land from indigenous African chiefs through negotiations, which of course led to the signing of the Ducor Contract.
She added the settlers and indigenous populations had fundamentally different understandings of land ownership, where the indigenous chiefs faced backlash from their communities for allegedly selling communal land which went against their customs, which prohibit an individual or king l from selling land alone.
In connection to the rural women rights days, she added, “the truth remains that women’s impediment to gaining access to justice or land for that matter had never been the law.”
“It has always been the socio-cultural and religious norms that we have subscribed to as a people,” she explained.
“Norms that dictate a woman’s place are always second, norms that shame women as being widely material, when they even try to enforce their rights under the law; a culture that always puts men first,” the guest speaker noted.
