allAfrica.com: Liberia: President Sirleaf Addresses Women's Conference in Niger (Page 1 of 1)

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was a featured speaker Monday at the Women for a Better World Conference held in Niger. A special guest of the President of Niger, Mamadou Tandja, the President spoke candidly about Liberia's challenges as they relate to gender development while also underscoring her Government's triumphs in increasing the enrolment of female students as a part of Liberia's compulsory primary education initiative. The President was addressing hundreds of women from the Continent of Africa and Spain, who converged on Niamey, Niger's capital, to devise concrete actions to ensure that women are involved in the creation of a better world. The results of their commitments are listed in the Niamey Declaration.

During her keynote address, President Johnson Sirleaf lauded Conference attendees, saying, "Thanks to all the women here as we join the sisterhood in making this world a better place." Speaking about the constantly evolving constructs of gender in Liberia, the President said: "When I go into the countryside and meet young girls, when we ask them 'What do you want to be when you grow up?,' they say President!" President Johnson Sirleaf also informed the gathering that Liberia is well on course to meeting requirements that will qualify the country for the Education for All Fast Track Initiative. The initiative was endorsed last year at the 2nd Women for a Better World Conference held in Madrid, Spain

During his address, President Tandja noted that National Women's Day in Niger, which coincidentally falls on the second day of the Conference tomorrow, commemorates the day his country mobilized and fought for democratic engagement of women. He said that the international community can never move forward without championing the full engagement of women in the social, political, and economic spheres. The theme of the Niamey conference, he said, reinforces the solidarity of women for a better world.

Gertrude Mongella, President of the Pan-African Parliament, elicited a round of deafening applause when she praised President Johnson Sirleaf for being an example of what women are capable of doing: "I appreciate your presence among the many women you have worked with in your lifetime. You have honored us, you have made us proud." She listed as one of the priority areas of intervention the role of African women in the midst of the food crisis, saying that, "If women were eating less and last before the food crisis, women are not eating at all now. If the women of Africa do not eat, then Africa is dead." Mongella also asserted that the revolution of equality between women and men has begun, and "there's no turning back."

The role of women's advocacy in Africa is nothing short of a miracle, said Mongella. The AU Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa was ratified by 46 African states, and has gained momentum since its inception in the early stages of 2006. The Protocol, which is a result of advocacy and activism among African women, has as one of its action items, buttressing the role of women in government, to which President Johnson Sirleaf has risen as a shining light.

The Women for a Better World Conference was launched as a means of strengthening the relationship between African and Spanish women, given Spain's keen interest in development assistance to Africa. The first conference was held in Mozambique, the second in Spain, and the third in Niger. Sources at the Niamey meeting suggested that the next Conference would be held once again on African soil.

The Spanish 1st Vice President, María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, declared that women need to be involved in all decision making processes in order for the world to be a better place, alluding to the Conference's theme. Her clarion call for the collaboration between Spanish and African women was met with applause.

In addition to attending the Conference, President Johnson Sirleaf also held bilateral talks with President Tandja. They deliberated on the need for more effectiveness in carrying out Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) protocols. President Johnson Sirleaf also briefed President Tandja on Liberia's development agenda as well as the Mano River Union's (MRU's) incorporation of Cote d'Ivoire, which will be the subject of much discussion during the MRU's conference hosted by Liberia in Monrovia this week. President Tandja discussed his concerns about drug-trafficking in the region, and urged more cooperation amongst ECOWAS member states.

In an interview after giving her keynote address, President Johnson Sirleaf noted that her goals for women's development are to increase the rate of girls' and women's literacy, develop a mechanism for improving the quality of women-led food production, increase the enrolment of girls in schools, and address staunchly the scourge of gender-based violence in Liberia, particularly rape. She also discussed the importance of Denmark choosing Liberia as a model country for Millenium Development Goal 3, and suggested that the Ministry of Gender & Development would be actively engaged in devising strategic policies and programs to enhance Liberia's commitment to MDG3.

The President returned late Monday night on a special flight commissioned by President Tandja. The Liberian delegation consisted of a cross-section of women in key leadership positions, such as Gender Minister, Varbah Gayflor; President of the Red Cross in Liberia, Theresa Leigh Sherman; President of the Association of Female Lawyers in Liberia, Deweh Gray; Monrovia City Mayor, Ophelia Hoff-Saytumah; Maryland County Senator, Gloria Scott; and Montserrado County Representative, Alomiza Ennos, among others.

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