Attack Violence against Women

Patrice says tomorrow's event will help create more awareness

Thursday, February 14, will not only be observed as lovers’ day; it will also mark the 15th anniversary of V-Day, the organization that inspired a global groundswell (rise, increase) in the thrust (push, fight) to end violence against women. So, do not be caught by surprised on Valentine’s Day, one billion women will rise up and DEMAND an end to violence against them.

Women, especially African women, over the years embarked on a struggle aimed at affirming their identities while doing all they could to transform societal, cultural or traditional notions or perceptions of their gender role. As they go through decades of societal crisis as victims of maternal and infant mortality, continuing commitment to hard labor in the area of agriculture, confinement to the private space and exclusion from modernity, African women have committed themselves, through unwavering revolutionary movements, to correct or reverse these disparities and forge new social relations. The struggle to correct societal stereotypes has not lost its momentum in the women’s world.

So, look for Liberian women to join their peers across the globe to stand up and be heard tomorrow as they vent (voice, declare) their outrage against all forms of abuse that continue to be meted out to women. At least one billion women are expected to rise up against a panoply atrocities that perennially (lasting, for long) have been perpetrate (committed, carried out) against them. This non-violent protest march will be staged in at least 200 countries across the globe.  And leading the charge on the local front is Liberian beauty queen-turned-fashion-designer, Patrice Juah.

Patrice has over the years been deeply buried in her advocacy for the right of the girl child to educational empowerment. She has been relentless and unwavering in her advocacy. But lately, she has come to terms with another hard fact – her passion for leading a charge against violence against women, in response to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s recent annual message reference  to rape and sexual assault that she said continues to remain ‘sky-high’ in this country.

So, when Patrice discovered through a South African actress and friend who will be leading South African women on tomorrow, she decided that the same was going to happen here in Liberia. It took her only a week to put together a local event in commemoration of the One Billion Rising Day. And guess what? Patrice is doing all this on her own. She is investing her resources in this venture and it is obvious that she is not looking to recover what she invests. Luckily, Ms. Juah is able to lean on her oldest sister, whom she described as her strongest fan. This sister of hers believes and trusts her younger sibling’s belief and the corresponding passion with which she is suffuse, (imbued filled) she told me yesterday in an exclusive interview in Monrovia.

So, as coordinator of the Liberia event, Patrice will take to the streets of Monrovia along with a band of 50 young women from all walks of life to DEMAND an end to violence against women. This global day of protest will highlight various aspects of abuse women had longomed to suffering: physical, mental, verbal as well as emotional ill-treatment or misuse. Hopefully, the exercise will help increase awareness of the critical need to protect and uphold the rights of women and children at all times.

The former Miss Liberia did not mince her words when she insisted that women shouldn’t be used as objects subject to abuse at anytime. She reminded men that this is not a gender combat [between women and men].

“It is a cause that should be achieved collectively---together with the men. Often, when we talk about women’s rights, men feel as though they are being castigated,” Patrice added.

So this activity is not about excluding the men; it is about getting both sexes involved in emancipating women from deeply-entrenched societal abuses.

Attired in black and red, (the official ‘One Billion Rising’ colors worldwide) symbolizing the agony women have continued to endure over the years, Patrice will lead a group of 50 young women ---and men, hopefully---from the SKD Boulevard Junction and will end up  at the Paynesville Town Hall. The parade starts at 8 a.m. and will be characterized by traditional/cultural dancing by the Kendeja Cultural Troupe. The indoor program will feature some of Liberia’s female entertainers.