Discrimination Against Women in Liberia

1417 Words6 Pages
Say little and do much- Shammai, Pirkei Avot Liberia Liberia located in the continent of Africa and the oldest republic in Africa and it consists of 16 ethnic and the largest ethnic in the country is known as Kpelle. Liberia is famously known as the land of free and it’s founded by the free African-Americans and freed slaves from United States in 1820. The population in 1994 was estimated 2, 893, 800.The civil war broke in 1989 to 1997 is believed to cost about 200, 000 lives of the Liberian. Discrimination is under the Sex and Gender topic where it shows the different treatment between man and women. According to the free dictionary.com, discrimination can be defined as unfair treatment of a person or group on the basis of prejudice. The discrimination in Liberia is something that relates to the socially constructed roles where the woman has limited rights for their family and themselves. Inequality between men and women occurs in Liberian society based on the socially constructed roles who influenced by tradition, culture and being put in law by male-dominant political institution. There are two main aspects is clearly shown the discrimination against women of Liberia. The first point is the law that being applied in Liberia followed by the physical integrity of the women. In law, Liberia has a dual system in law where it consist of statutory law and customary (traditional) law. Liberia had made a great effort to uphold the United Nations Mission in Liberia to review the law that discriminate against women. Under both type of law, it stills being gender discrimination especially in family laws. In the statutory law, discrimination occurs in nationality and citizenship. Under the 1973 Alien and Nationality law, a child born to a non-Liberian father but a Liberian mother is not automatically granted the mother’s nationality. The child did not have any

More about Discrimination Against Women in Liberia

Open Document