Liberian women act to end civil war, 2003
Summary
In 2000, Liberia’s second civil war broke out. [source: nv-database]
Liberian President Charles Taylor and his military forces, who had taken over Liberia in 1989 during the first civil war, experienced attacks from the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD). [source: nv-database]
LURD consisted of various anti-Taylor militant groups led by warlords who were not given a role in Taylor’s government. [source: nv-database]
By 2002, over 200,000 individuals had died in the conflict. [source: nv-database]
In 2003 yet another anti-Taylor rebel group, the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL), joined the fight to rid Liberia of the Taylor regime. [source: nv-database]
Tactics used
Tactics used
- marches
- vigils
- declarations-by-organizations-and-institutions
- assemblies-of-protest-or-support
- deputations
- sit-in
- protest-meetings
- banners-posters-and-displayed-communications
- wearing-of-symbols
- displays-of-flags-and-symbolic-colors
- singing
- group-lobbying
- declarations-of-indictment-and-intention
- prayer-and-worship
Background
As the war raged throughout the countryside, soldiers on both sides of the conflict looted and burned villages, raped women, and recruited young boys to fight. [source: nv-database]
Thousands of individuals fled their homes and made their way to Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, where they lived in camps without much food or drinking water. [source: nv-database]
What happened
In reaction to the conflict, social worker Leymah Gbowee decided to bring women from her church together to protest the war. (Gbowee was to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011.) First appealing to the Lutheran Church to which she belonged, Gbowee recruited several hundred Christian women to pray for peace. At one of their meetings in March 2003, a Muslim, Asatu Bah Kenneth, spoke to the crowd and proclaimed that she would bring Muslim women to join with the Christian women in demanding peace from the president and the warlords. On April 1, the united group of Christian and Muslim women staged their first protest. Using the radio to spread the word, Gbowee and Janet Johnson Bryant, a journalist, encouraged the women of Monrovia to speak out for peace. Hearing their call on the radio, many internally displaced women joined the campaign as well. Wearing all white clothing the women gathered at the fish market every day for a week. They sat, danced, and sang for peace. Some held banners that read, “The women of Liberia want peace now.” Their location at the fish market was a strategic one, as the land was visible from President Taylor’s residence. Every day, Taylor’s motorcade passed the women. As the week went on, over 2,500 women gathered on the market lawn. They agreed that they would go on a sex strike, denying their partners intimacy until the war had ended. Seeing that men were the perpetrators of the violence, the Liberian women felt that if they were to withhold sex, their partners would also pray for peace and support an end to the war. That week, rebel forces along with Taylor’s army attacked the displacement camps in Monrovia. The activist women held a candlelight vigil to pray for those in the camps. As the violence escalated, the international community called for peace talks. The women seconded the call, urging Taylor and the rebels to negotiate. Both sides refused. On April 11, the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace, as they had named themselves, issued a “Position Statement on the Liberian Crisis.” Staying outside the political realm for fear of persecution, the women stated their goal as simply being that of peace. They erected a billboard at the fish market, which read, “The women of Liberia say peace is our goal, peace is what matters, peace is what we need.” Bearing this message, the women marched through the streets of Monrovia, while hund. [source: nv-database]
Key people & organizations
- Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace led by Leymah Gbowee [source: nv-database]
- Asatu Bah Kenneth [source: nv-database]
- Etweda “Sugars” Cooper [source: nv-database]
- Vaiba Flomo [source: nv-database]
- Janet Johnson Bryant [source: nv-database]
- Women in Peacebuilding Network [source: nv-database]
- Liberia Women Initiative [source: nv-database]
Outcome
Verdict: won.
Per the source’s scoring rubric, the campaign scored 6 out of 6 points on achieving specific demands/goals, 1 out of 1 points on survival, and 3 out of 3 points on growth — for 10 out of 10 points overall. [source: nv-database]
The Liberian women brought peace to their country by forcing their President and the rebel factions to attend peace talks, pushing the signing of the peace agreement, and placing pressure on the transitional government to hold fair and democratic elections. The women’s campaign survived despite great hardships, including threat of violence, and lasted until the democratic elections were over and their goal was met. The Liberian women’s peace campaign grew from several hundred woman at the outset to thousands more women as the campaign continued. Women from displacement camps and local villages outside Monrovia joined the first members, bringing the total of the group to over several thousand. [source: nv-database]
Lessons
- Sustained, broad-based nonviolent mobilization can win measurable concessions even against entrenched regimes.
- The Liberian women brought peace to their country by forcing their President and the rebel factions to attend peace talks, pushing the signing of the peace agreement, and placing pressure on the transitional government to hold fair and democratic elections. [source: nv-database]
- Public marches and assemblies create visibility but require shielding from state repression to remain effective.
- Unconventional tactics like sex strikes can draw international attention but rarely translate into immediate policy change.
Sources
- Global Nonviolent Action Database —
[[nv-database]]
Disclaimer: Included as a teaching example of campaign craft, not as endorsement.
Sources & verification
nv-database— grounding: primary — license: link-only- Built: 2026-07-04 from GNVAD content via T1 balance pipeline.