Plan International has reiterated its goal of increasing sustained influence of girls and young women on decision making in Liberia through the She Leads project.
She Leads is a joint project of Plan International Netherlands, Defence for Children International-ECPAT the Netherlands, African Women’s Development and Communication Network, and Terre des Hommes in the Netherlands.
The aim of the five-year project (2021 to 2025) is to increase sustained influence of girls and young women on decision making and the transformation of gender norms in formal and informal institutions in Liberia.
It is understood that Liberia is a society where gender inequalities are wide-spread, based on patriarchal values and manifested in cultural practices.
According to a 2019 UN Women report on The challenge of unlearning, women and girls are in a disadvantaged position in practically all spheres of society, whether it is about economic power, political voice, intra-household decision making power or role in the hierarchy of violence.
The West African country is ranked 154 out of 160 countries in the UNDP Gender Inequality Index with low performance on women’s political participation, high maternal mortality rates and low levels of education for girls.
Only Mali, Chad, Yemen, Central African Republic (CAR), Ivory Coast and Papua New Guinea have a lower overall scores on gender equality.
As part of the She Leads implementation plan, Plan International recently conducted an orientation exercise for its partners in Liberia.
The orientation workshop took place in Ganta, Nimba County, where an overview of the project, including expected key outcomes and implementation strategies, theory of change and partners’ selection for activities in five counties of Liberia, was presented.
‘She Leads seeks to increase sustained influence of girls and young women on decision making and the transformation of gender norms in formal and informal institutions’, She Leads Project Manager at Plan International Liberia, Agnes Freeman-Kormon, said in a statement.
Plan International Liberia, according to the statement, will implement the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs-funded project in three counties of Liberia, targeting girls and young women between the ages 12 and 35.
The organisation is carrying out the She Leads project in collaboration with national and international partners, local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and 30 girls-led organisations in Liberia.
Source: Plan International Liberia
Photo source: Plan International Liberia
