PHOTO: Chief Zanzan Kowor
By Garmah Never Lomo, garmahlomo@gmail.com
At long last, a three-year moratorium has been placed on Female Genital Mutilation in Liberia.
As a means of eliminating harmful traditional practices in Liberia, the head of the National Traditional Council of Liberia, Chief Zanzan Kawor has called on the Anti- Sexual and Gender Base violence (SGBV) taskforce to give them the responsibility in serving as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) taskforce.
Chief Kawor made the call early this week, when the Liberian government announced a three-year moratorium on FGM during the official launch of the Anti-SGBV Call Center at the Gender Ministry in Monrovia’s Congo Town suburb.
The Traditional Council head said that this will enable them to provide full cooperation between the government and the traditional Leaders across the country.
During the official launch of Anti-SGBV National call Center, over of 18 Motorbikes with four vehicles were handed over to the Anti-SGBV taskforce.
Chief Karwor said traditional activities are an undemocratic process as only those who are deeply part of them can take interest into it.
“If you are unable to go into the zoe bush, how can you monitor as taskforce to know what is happening there?” the head of the Traditional Council questioned people at the gathering.
‘We want to set a task force with the people who is part of the Sande bush, if those heading those bushes tells the task force no one is in the bush, those task force who are member of the bush can enter the bush to make sure,’ Chief Karwor added.
He warned that queen’s task force is not needed in the process, because they will not get where they should get to for their operations.
Chief Kawor warned that if any non-traditional members taskforce are arrested or operation hinders by Chiefs Zoe, “don’t blame me as I will not be held responsible”.
He suggested that the logistics and the responsibility should be turned over to the traditional leaders to provide adequate and effective results of their agreement.
Meanwhile, the traditional head has appealed to the to the Liberian government through the Gender Ministry to build training centers across the country to enable his members to participate in waving clothes, planting mats, among others as a way to keep them comfortable.
During his presentation of their Moratorium to the Minister of Gender Children and Social Protection, Williametta E. Saydee-Tarr to suspend the FGM for three years, the Chief Zoe of Liberia encouraged the body to report to him any violator for investigation as traditional cases are not justice related cases.
Serving as chief launcher of of the SGBV, Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor called on the government to build more traditional schools across the country and provide traditional education for among citizens, except the FGM in order to keep the culture alive.
According to her, the Nation should hail the traditional foods by putting the Zoes and the Teachers in position, so that young Children can go to Learn what they should be learning.
VP Taylor recalled that as a traditional person, she is hoping that her children will go and learn about the Kpelleh and the Lofa traditions.
She maintained that so many things are missing in the lives of their children and the Liberian Vice President wants them to go and fully learn about the tradition to have them completed.
“If our Culture must be built and transformed from one generation to another, the truth of the matter is traditional schools are strategic and I pray it will be part of our agenda,” VP Jewel Taylor asserted.
Also speaking at the program, the Swedish Ambassador to Liberia, Urban Sjöström noted that FGM has no health benefit in humans lives.