FACTORS HINDERING GENDER BALANCE IN THE POLITICAL PARTICIPATION OF LIBERIA. WOMEN AS A VICTIM.

Abstract

The rising gender inequality in the political processes in Africa has existed for several decades and there are possibilities that this phenomenon could take a different trench if researchers and civil organizations do not see the need to identify determinant factors that have created such a huge gap, and then find a way to address it through structural solution plan. However, this paper aims at identifying these factors that have hindered the balance of political activities in the local constituencies in Liberia. Several cases in Africa have proved that there exists a huge gap between the two genders when it comes to equality in accessing the opportunities relevant to presiding over local governments, district offices and key leadership roles. However, the Data collection for this paper was made possible through online surveys distributed to various constituencies across the country. Questionnaires were sent out through a digital means, and interviews were conducted through informants that are based in the above mentioned constituencies. Second hand data was gathered from several international organization research analysis, national government demography organizations data and researchers around the country. Important findings include factors affecting empowerment, political regime preferences, the gap of illiteracy, political violence, gender employment gap, fear of intimidation and the stereotypical view that certain genders should n't fit in certain capacities. Descriptive analysis was used in order to provide a clear understanding of the findings from the respondents.

Local government/constituencies politics in Africa, especially Liberia is much more complicated in practice then it is broadly looked at. To become a formidable political individual in a typical African environment could mean so much more that a specific gender is not willing to sacrifice at a given point in time. In practice, women are to an extent a weaker gender in Liberia and this due to the fact that they have most of those who were born in the period of the 1900s up to 2001, were brought up with this mindset that females are of lesser need in collective societal activities. This idea has fully-fledged into a stereotypical concept in the minds of females, thus leaving a huge gap in the confidence for an equal sense of participation in the political processes of their constituencies.

However, it should be seen that a balance of empowerment opportunities in these constituencies, the expansion of literacy programs for inaccessible sub-constituencies, and a reform in political parties policies for the equal involvement of the both gender as party representatives in the parliament; commissioners and head of service delivery departments. On a broader perspective, females must see the need to rise up in self-development for the emerging era of change in several cardinal spectrums of modernization.