Grand Gedeh: Access To Justice For Women In Full Swing

Action-Aid Liberia or AAL and the United Nations Women Trust Fund or UNWTF have embarked on an “Access to Justice for Women” programme in Grand Gedeh and River Gee Counties. The project is aimed at reducing the prevalent of violent perpetrated against women and the impact on their survival.

Arthur Butler, AAL’s Acting Manager and Programme Officer, told journalists at a high school drama competition of anti—Violent Against Women or VAW that to eradicate poverty in Liberia, the central government, non-governmental and community based organizations must address those problems that affect women.

He said AAL and UNWTF have divided the project into two components: “Violent Against Women and the Economic Livelihood”. The AAL, Southeastern Women Development Association or SEWODA and Project New Outlook or PNO are implementing projects in the two counties (Grand Gdeh and River Gee).

The Programme Officer said the selection of Grand Gedeh and River Gee Counties was based on their limited sensitization as it relates to understanding women rights and issues that constitute women rights violation especially the rape and inheritance law.

He said AAL “Access to Justice” programme outline issues to be depicted through dramas which include HIV/AIDS, rape and compromising rape cases, domestic violence and access to justice for women as concept to be dramatized by the selected schools.

Butler explained that the reason for using school drama clubs is to see how women suffer violent under the new generation of people and be able to establish that the issues are old age thing. “From the inception, people thought men were superior to their female counterparts and that was the beginning of VAW.

“Those days are gone,” he said, while depicting the message of how women rights were violated in the past and a link to the new era dramatizing a balance gender community.

Of the six schools, Zwedru Multilateral High School (ZMHS) won the first prize of US$100, Bishop Juwle High School US$75.00, Nixon Garlo Lutheran High US$50.00, Tubman Wilson High Institute (TWI) US$35, Putu Pennoken Jr. High US$30.00 and Putu Petroken Primary (Elementary) US$25.00.