Liberia recruits women soldiers
2006-06-06 08:50
Monrovia - The first African country led by a democratically elected woman began recruiting women into its new post-war army on Monday.
The new army would initially number 2 000 troops, and roughly 400 of them would be women, said Edith Bawn, a spokesperson for the government body responsible for overseeing the creation of the armed forces that included representatives of the United Nations and the United States.
On Monday, dozens of women queued up outside a military barracks in the capital, Monrovia.
One of them, Edith Nelson, said: "I want to join the army because I love my country and feel that my country is more important than I am."
'I want to help my colleagues'
Another woman, Kotati Jackson, said she wanted to join to become a medic. She said: "I want to be of help to my colleagues, mainly the wounded ones."
Women had served in small numbers in Liberia's military in the past, but recruiting for the new army, which began in January, had only been open to men so far.
During the country's civil war, many women were forced by government forces and rebels alike to cook or carry supplies.
Sex slaves
Others became "bush wives" or sex slaves kept for years by commanders. Some led units as battle-hardened front-line fighters.
Liberian officials said that the drive to recruit women was part of the country's broader goal of ensuring gender balance under President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who inherited a poor nation struggling to recover from year of civil war after she took office in January as Africa's first elected female head of state.
'Women bring sensitiveness to the military'
Bawn called Monday's recruitment drive "a special push to attract women". According to Bawn: "Women bring a special sensitiveness to the military. And they're very good at support roles."
Bawn and other officials said women would not be pegged to certain roles and would be able to serve in whatever capacities for which they qualified.
The screening process lasted two days, during which applicants took an aptitude test and underwent medical tests and conducted brief physical training exercises.
Protecting the country
Reconstituting the army was considered a crucial to helping Liberia escape a cycle of coups and civil war that had torn the West African nation apart for a quarter century.
UN officials said that the army should be small because its main purpose should be protecting the country's borders from outside aggressors.
About 15 000 UN peacekeepers were deployed in the country to bolster the peace until the new army and a new police force could take over security.
- AP