Women In Liberia

2828 Words6 Pages

Liberia

In the early 1800’s Liberia was founded by a group of white Americans, the American Colonization Society (ACS), to become the first African republic. The original intention behind the republic was to deal with the overwhelming population of freed black slaves in America. February 6th, 1820 The Mayflower of Liberia set off from New York with Liberia’s first 86 settlers. Liberia was the second, behind Haiti, black republic in the world.

Getting the first settlers to their new home was the easy part, once they arrived to their destination the conditions were everything but what the colonist hoped for. With Liberia being on the west cost of the country the living conditions were harsh. The land was swampy and made it very unhealthy …show more content…

Statistically speaking women in Liberia have less access to education, health care, and justice in comparison to men in the country. The gender divisions in the country are evident. Women typically clean, cook, and take care of children and their hard work is rarely acknowledged. Men are always seen as the breadwinner. Land owners in the country are prominently men. Although it’s 2014 and the president of Liberia is a women injustices still happen to women regularly. Arranged marriages aren’t unheard of or uncommon, and some places in Liberia still partake in female genital mutilation (FGM) or female circumcisions. Genital mutilation is the ritual of removing some or all of the external female genitalia. This practice is typically performed by a traditional circumciser with a blade or razor, and this can be with or without anesthesia. FGM is known to be practiced in 27 different African countries as well as a hand full of places around the world. As tradition has it (though it can vary depending on the country or girl) most girls are cut before the age of five. Once again, depending on the country the procedure can differ. Some include the removal of the clitoral hood and clitoris, and in the most severe cases removal of the inner and outer labia. It isn’t unheard of for the closure of the vulva as well, leaving just a small hole for urinating and the female’s menstrual cycle. Female Genital Mutilation is just one practice that is formed around gender inequality, attempts to control women, it conveys the idea of purity, and

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