A One Day cross border Workshop and Dialogue has awareness workshop and Dialogue from women engaged in cross border trade at the Liberian-Sierra Leonean border has taken place at the Women Peace Hut in Bo-Waterside.
The workshop and dialogue, which was organized by Young Women’s Actions for Rights, Peace and Development (YWARPD), with support from Het Actiefonds, a Dutch based solidarity organization, brought together 60 women from both sides of the border and provided training in reporting mechanisms for abuse and exploitation, understanding of regional protocols on trade and free movement
The training workshop was designed to raise the awareness of small-scale and informal cross-border women traders on trade rules, customs procedures, and traders’ rights and obligations, as well as to strengthen their entrepreneurial skills. As part of the workshop, participants were divided into Working Groups to identify challanges faced by women in cross border trade. At the end of the Dialogue, the participants indentified a number of issues confrontin women then and appealed for support to address these issues. Some of the challanges identified include sexual abuse and exploitation, harassment and extortion, the confiscation of their goods by custom officials and payment of fees to enable them cross.
The workshop and dialogue were followed by a peaceful walk by the women to present their grievances to the relevant authorities and to also draw attention to their plight. The activities are part of a project titled “Towards Mobilizing Women Involved in Cross Border Trade To Protect their Rights to Free Movement and To Enhance their Dignity and Capacities to Engage in Cross Border Trade.” It is been undertake in key border communities along Liberia border with Sierra Leone and Guinea.
YWARPD was established in 2022 and focuses on empowering young women through civic education, research, and advocacy to promote their rights, peacebuilding, and sustainable development. YWARPD’S’s work includes advancing gender equality, and ensuring young women’s participation in decision-making processes, including local democracy and peacebuilding efforts.
Het Actiefonds is a revolutionary fund that has been working towards large-scale, bottom-up social change since 1968. Het Actiefonds supports social movements around the world by providing small-scale grants for direct actions.