Liberia Empowerment Programme on Women Rights (Haki Mkononi)

General

The project will focus on community -level empowerment. It is evident that the greatest impact of bad policies, poor implementation of good policies, and the lack of good leadership is felt at the community level. This is continuing because the majority of the people who are within the lower and lowest echelons of the decision making pyramid are not consulted in policy development, nor are they fully educated on their role in effecting policy and reaping the resulting benefits. Based on this, the action will take a bottom -up approach, which will include the empowerment of community -based women's rights organisations and moving up to engaging national state actors for policy influencing. These approaches will focus on articulating: • Article 6 and 7: Equality in marriage and divorce, 18 years as the minimum age of marriage, preference for monogamy, and protection of wives' rights in polygamous relationships; • Article 14: Right to control fertility; protection from HIV/AIDS; and obligation to provide adequate, affordable, and available health services and medical abortion under certain conditions; and • Article 15, 18 & 21: Women's land rights and the right to equitable inheritance to matrimonial and parental property areas which will lead to informed policy influencing and enhance women rights. Once the capacity of people at the community level is built and strengthened, self -actualization ensues and the confidence to constructively engage government and demand them to account and ensure protection is advanced. • Article 5: Elimination of harmful cultural practices, prohibition of FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) backed by sanctions, obligation to provide public awareness programs.