Leymah Gbowee, “Women, Leadership & Human Rights”

Thanks to everyone who joined us to hear Leymah Gbowee speak on “Women, Leadership & Human Rights.” In cased you missed it, here is a picture of Leymah with the sponsors and below are a few excerpts from the conversation with Leymah. Enjoy!

” The Liberian women’s movement was a successful one because the women decided they were going to do it. They had felt the pain, they had gone through it and they were going to do that one. We were successful, because we knew the issues, the local context, and we had local knowledge. Every time the soldiers saw us protesting, they didn’t see different faces – they saw the faces of their mothers. If you look at countries where they have peacekeepers coming in, I will tell you that the peacekeepers who have similar cultural heritage or tradition, compared to peacekeepers who come from afar, are more respectful and more sympathetic to the people that they are protecting.”

“Any kind of advocacy is good to start from within, because if it starts from outside, the chances of the activist that is your ally really doing anything is not so good. The way they operate in some of these areas is dog eat dog.”

“Whether it is working with boys, girls, or just going to a hospital to sit with a mother and talk to her, do something. When you put your money into something, don’t just put it somewhere. Follow and ask questions. Ask for stories that will inspire you, and know what changes they are making for the betterment of lives.”