Women's Voices in the TRC Process

18 December 2006

The TRC Committee on Gender is holding four nationwide zonal workshops and town hall meetings for women in all the 15 counties. The series of workshops and town hall meetings began with zone one: Montserrado, Bomi, Gbarpolu and Grand Cape Mount Counties. The workshop at the St. Teresa Convent in Monrovia brought together more than 50 participants who represent various women organizations. Zone two workshop was held in Gbarnga, Bong County with women representatives of Nimba, Bong, Lofa and Margibi Counties. The third zonal workshop was held in Buchanan City on December 18; counties in that zone included River Cess, Sinoe and Grand Bassa.

The workshops are being facilitated by Commissioners of the TRC together with some experts from ICTJ, TRC partners on gender issues and the Ministry of Gender and Development. The experts and TRC facilitators made presentations on several issues within the confines of the TRC act, beginning with an overview of the TRC mandate putting specific emphasis on gender components, historical analysis of the gender pattern of human rights violation in Liberia and international experiences on how gender and women’s perspectives were built into the work of different TRCs. This was followed by participants’ group discussions on the topic. How can women participate in the TRC process? This was one of the major questions discussed by participants at the zonal workshops for women. Some began by saying the TRC should work with women’s organizations in all the counties, women should be empowered to create awareness among other women at the grass roots level.

Another issue of great importance raised was the issue of security. The women pleaded that the TRC ensure women's protection. They also suggested that the TRC prepare spot messages in the local vernaculars and should establish TRC community women's groups. They asked the TRC to hold regular town hall meetings in the counties so as to keep the spirit of the commission alive throughout the entire country.

The workshop and town hall meetings are expected to be completed at the end of this week in Harper, Maryland County. The workshop is expected to bring together more than 40 women from Grand Kru, Grand Gedeh, River Gee and Maryland Counties. The town hall meetings were attended by about 60 to 120 women at each occasion.

The workshops and town hall meetings are made possible through funding from the women's network program of the Open Society Institute, an organization based in the U.S.A. The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) provides assistance through its sponsorship of three gender experts who serve as major facilitators for the program.

The three experts are Valnora Edwin from Sierra Leone, Karen Campbell-Nelson from East Timor and Tonieh Wiles from Liberia.