May 12, 2008

The Women's Studies Program
presents
Iron Ladies of Liberia
Monday, May 12, 2008
3:30 pm – 5:30 pm
and
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
6:20 pm – 8:00 pm
 
Woody Tanger Auditorium
Brooklyn College Library

After nearly two decades of brutal civil war, Liberia is a nation ready for change. On January 16, 2006, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was inaugurated as the first freely elected female head of state in Liberia and in Africa. A Harvard-educated economist and grandmother of eight, Johnson Sirleaf, nicknamed the Iron Lady, still faces major obstacles trying to rebuild and reform her war-torn country. Since taking office, however, she has appointed an unprecedented number of women to leadership positions in all areas of the Liberian government.
     Iron Ladies of Liberia, a documentary that had the cooperation of President Sirleaf, interviews leaders in the new administration such as National Police Chief Beatrice Munah Sieh, a former special education teacher who worked in New Jersey for ten years, whose duty is to reform a corrupt and repressive institution. Also, Dr. Antoinette Sayeh, the minister of finance, who must manage a crippling national debt of over $5 billion. As Dr. Sayeh has put it, "Women have not been, to the same extent as men have, party to all of the bad things of the past. They certainly were very strong voices against the atrocities in Liberia in the war, and they fought very, very hard to make sure that the democratic process worked this time around…[T] his is our biggest opportunity to change Liberia."
     Other "iron ladies" include Minister of Justice Francis Johnson-Morris, Commerce Minister Olubanke King Akerele, and Minister of Gender Vabah Kazaku Gayflor. How would the world be different if women were in power? Iron Ladies of Liberia provides some insightful answers.
     The event is free and open to the public.  
For more information, please contact Irva Adams at
(718) 951-5476. Please visit http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/ironladies/film.html