Women of Liberia Background
Liberia experienced devastating wars between 1989 and 1997 and again between 1999 and 2003. Throughout these conflicts, where over 200,000 people died and another half million Liberians were displaced, record numbers of Liberian women and girls found themselves in battle and confronted with unspeakable acts of violence. While many of these women have faced myriad of obstacles during the war and in the post-conflict era – death of family members, sexual violence, shame, stigma, and challenging economic and social environments – immense challenges exist for most women attempting to reintegrate into civilian life.
Amnesty International welcomes you to the groundbreaking US film launch and tour of Women of Liberia: Fighting for Peace. In this poignant documentary, directed by two time academy award winning Jonathan Stack and commissioned by Amnesty International, Women of Liberia follows the epic journey of five women from the beginning of the war to reintegration into post-conflict society. This is a fate, which many women associated with the fighting forces in Liberia, will never reach.
Women and girls are active in conflicts around the world and suffer significant consequences as a result of their participation. However, programs designed in the post war period to help societies recover from the war are only beginning to understand the differences between how women and men experience conflict and the necessity of designing programs that address women’s unique needs. Women of Liberia: Fighting for Peace brings this situation to light.
The documentary introduces to viewers women who were associated with the war by describing their epic journey from the beginning of the conflict to peace time and the challenges they face along the way. Despite the shame and stigma and the challenging economic and social environment they face in a post conflict situation, through their own strength and ambition these brave women strive and ultimately can prevail. Their stories are an inspiration to ordinary people and an important lesson to policy makers involved in a post conflict context.
Throughout late July 2008, AIUSA will be showing Women of Liberia: Fighting for Peace in New York and Washington, DC to help highlight the situation in Liberia and to promote U.S. legislation entitled the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA). Introduced last year, IVAWA calls for more programs to assist women and girls abroad such as in Liberia. As a way to more effectively promote the film and the issue, Jackie Redd, Mickey Kesseley, and Florence Ballah, three Liberian women who are featured in the film, will be present at the screenings to share their stories with audiences. They will tell you how they became involved in the Liberian conflict, the violence they experienced, and the challenges that they and others like them face in post-war Liberia today.
Please join Amnesty International during this awe-inspiring tour.
