The Women’s NGO Secretariat of Liberia (WONGOSOL) over the weekend held a one-day women’s reflection dialogue with the Freedom of Information (FOI) Law with women’s clubs and other women community-based organizations (CBOs), along with government partners and stakeholders, to recollect gains made during the entire project. The dialogue was held at the Lutheran Compound in Sinkor.
The FOI project was intended to train community dwellers to create awareness of FOI Law for Liberians, especially women to access public information from government ministries and agencies as well as private institutions.
The project, which is expected to end this year, has been implemented by WONGOSOL with sponsorship from the Carter Center, brought together 50 participants to reflect on the gains made since its implementation.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Executive Director of WONGOSOL, Esther Davis Yango, underscored that access to information is crucial to enhance the empowerment of Liberian women in every sector of development.
Yango noted that Liberian women have been marginalized over the years due to the lack of adequate access to relevant information concerning health, education, among others, to make informed decisions.
She asserted that the training of community dwellers to create more awareness about FOI Law has been positive for women’s participation in the electoral process.
Yango stated that, despite WONGOSOL advocacy for the amendments of the New Election Law for political parties to provide 30 percent of women candidates on their candidate listing for the election, it has not be realized as reflected on the women candidates in the race.
According to her, the continuation of training more women about accessing information through FOI Law as well as creating awareness in the various communities across the country cannot be overemphasized.
Meanwhile, participants expressed thanks and appreciation to WONGOSOL and the Carter Center for their farsightedness to enhance the awareness of the FOI Law in their communities.
They noted that, through the FOI Law, some of them have gotten access to information to tackle challenges in their communities through the relevant ministries and agencies of government.
They stated that it is critical to continue creating awareness about FOI Law and its important to the citizenry.