By: Gabriel B. Sawah
Cestos City, River Cess County — The Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) and the Ministry of National Defense are in River Cess County encouraging women to join the Armed Forces.
The initiative is part of efforts by both institutions to achieve 30 percent female inclusion in the Armed Forces of Liberia.
Speaking to reporters ahead of a daylong awareness campaign in Cestos City on Monday, the Deputy Director for Gender Inclusion of the Armed Forces of Liberia and the Ministry of National Defense, Lieutenant Dehlee Lavelah, said the activity is part of the AFL and United Nations Elsie Initiative, designed to support efforts to recruit and empower more women in the military and security sector.
According to Lieutenant Lavelah, the United Nations Elsie Initiative, through UN Women, is supporting the Armed Forces of Liberia and the Ministry of National Defense in efforts to increase the recruitment and participation of women in the security sector.
She said through awareness and community engagement, they are encouraging women to participate in the recruitment process.
Lieutenant Lavelah added that the initiative was designed based on research conducted under the Elsie Initiative, which found that having more women in the security sector can help security institutions work more effectively.
She said key requirements for joining the Armed Forces of Liberia include being a Liberian citizen, being at least 18 years old, being a high school graduate, being medically fit, and having no record of human rights violations.
Meanwhile, the Senior Monitoring and Evaluation Analyst at the Ministry of National Defense, Zolina Teewleh, urged young women in River Cess County to take advantage of the opportunities.
She described the Armed Forces of Liberia as a well-respected and disciplined institution where everyone has equal opportunities regardless of gender.
According to her, both women and men have professional career opportunities based on merit and not gender.
Residents of River Cess County who gathered at the Cestos City Hall and participated in a radio talk show involving members of the Armed Forces thanked the AFL for the initiative and described the military as a force for the people.
The outreach activities were held in Cestos City and the commercial city of Yarpah Town.
The Elsie Initiative project specifically focuses on increasing the participation of women in the Armed Forces, with an emphasis on expanding the eligible pool of uniformed women to 30 percent by 2030.