Gender Mainstreaming In Peacekeeping Operations ... - Resdal

These women’s groups became influential and representatives
of the MARWOPNET which had been granted observer status,
were invited to attend the formal ECOWAS negotiations, and
became signatory of the peace declaration. The result was
a Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which reflected
the will and intention of women and set quotas for members
of the Transitional Legislative Assembly to include women
representatives. The Agreement also included provisions for
gender balance in elective and non-elective posts. Overall, this
was crucial groundwork for the inclusion of women within the
country’s post-conflict infrastructure and during a period of
instability and insecurity.
The country’s first democratically elected female President,
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, was elected in 2005 through free, fair,
and transparent elections that included over 50% female voters.
President Sirleaf’s initial Cabinet included five women ministers in
strategic positions, 21 women as deputy and assistant ministers,
and 28 women in non-traditional executive appointments,
including Inspector General of the LNP and Deputy Governor of
the Central Bank of Liberia 4 .
The Ministry of Gender and Development (MoGD) was
established in 2001 by an Act to Amend Executive Law Title 12
for the Establishment of a Ministry of Gender and Development.
The ministry serves as the primary vehicle on all matters affecting
the protection, promotion, participation, and advancement
of women in Liberia, and coordinates gender mainstreaming
efforts. The ministry has many operational systems, which
make it particularly adept at considering the needs of women
in the country. A team of Gender Desk Officers is situated across
Government ministries. Additionally, a rural women’s network
brings the work of the MoGD to the county level, where trained
4 OGA Quarterly Report January to March 2006.
4