I am an activist working to create an enabling environment for women at the community level to participate in government especially at the local level. Some of the issues that have come up during town hall meetings are low financial capacity of women to be able to fund the elections processes, ie registration at the local level with election commissions, printing of posters, photos which are very costly for most of these women. The issue of migration of women which is due to marriage, I am told by these women, communities that they have married into do not allow them to run for elective positions after they have spent almost all of their lives in such communities. They are often told to go back to their original birth places to run for office. Some of these women have worked and served these communities in so many capacities but when it comes to paid jobs they are told to go back home to run for offices, it is not fair and I need some suggestions for our next meetings that will help them to run for office.
I am looking forward to suggestions to help us increase the number of women in political decision making at all level.
Cerue Konah Garlo
Liberia