By Jenneh S. Kemokai
A high-level UN Women delegation headed by its Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Dr. Maxine Houinato, over the weekend visited Grand Cape Mount County to celebrate and boost efforts aimed at women’s empowerment and leadership across Liberia’s western region.
The delegation, accompanied by Grand Cape Mount County Senator, Dabbah Varpilah includes UN Women Country Representative, Comfort Lamptey, Swedish Ambassador to Liberia, Karl Backeus, and representatives from the ministries of Gender and Internal Affairs respectively.
The visit took the delegation to Robertsports, the capital of Cape Mount, and the Liberia-Sierra Leone border at Bo Waterside.
On the first leg of the visit to Robertsports, the delegation interacted with women there, listening to their success stories and challenges.
The UN Women Country Representative, Lamptey, stated that she was moved by the resilience of the women, applauding them for the progress they are making toward financial independence.
She heaped praises on women of Grand Cape Mount County, indicating that they have the highest number of women in leadership roles at both local and national levels.
She however, emphasized that more efforts are needed to address the disparity between men and women in leadership role.
At Bo Waterside, Lamptey expressed delight that women there are utilizing resources provided by UN Women through the Women Peace Hotspot Initiative.
Women at Bo Waterside also shared their experiences regarding their involvement in peace-building initiatives, which they said has helped them greatly in fostering community cohesion and oneness, as well as settling disputes including family conflicts.
They also spoke of the benefits of participating in business training programs, which they reported as helping them improve their earnings and has contributed to supporting their children’s educational sojourns.
