Dear Mr. President,
You mon bounce on us again with this flyer inserting yourself into the conversation about Rape. I applaud you for attempting to join the conversation, but please go grab your marker or eraser and let’s make a new one. Your flyer joins a million voices saying no to rape and then continues by informing us “Real men take no for an answer?”
Mr. President, I am assuming you are one of those “real men?” What are real men up to these days? Do you guys have meetings discussing what you take for answers? How does one apply to join such a noble club? Those men not considered “real men” that are living among us, what do you real men do with them? How can potential victims of rape identify these “unreal men?” These are all questions that came to mind when I first saw the flyer.
Of course, as someone who advocates for the rights of women and children, and find myself staggered over the rape reports and headlines coming out of our society, I had to take a closer look at this flyer and the message. As your title on the flyer states, you are our self-declared “Feminist in Chief”, therefore you should know that the message on the flyer is harmful to survivors and reinforces the rape culture we have. In your message is the assumption that those who rape are not part of what you referred to as ‘real men’. To that, I again ask who are these unreal men?
Another salient issue you introduced with this flyer is consent. Mr. President, thank you for that. Do you know that Human Rights and Protection Service of the United Nations Mission in Liberia reported that majority of the rape cases in Liberia are children under 15 years? As minors, the issue of consent does not apply and to imply that real men take no for an answer excludes those men raping children as just people who did not get consent.
Hundreds of rape cases and aggravated assault go unpunished in Liberia. These are not aliens or ghost perpetrators. The families of children as young as 2 years old go through the trauma of rape and it is real whether you acknowledge those men as part of real men club or not! It is unacceptable for you to release a flyer with so little thought about survivors and simplify it to a matter of taking no for an answer.
As our leader, you should shed light on Liberia’s issue with a prevalent rape culture that protects assailants and ignores survivors. Instead, this is yet another attempt to add your face to something you have absolutely no intention to act on. I will give this to you as an act of good intention, but intentions are not impactful Mr. President. Your face on a misinformed flyer is detrimental to us. The issue of rape disproportionately affects women in our society, yet you managed to insert yourself into the conversation while saying the wrong things and with no real action which ultimately insults survivors and reinforces rape culture.
It is such a shame that you do not even see that inserting your face in issues affecting women just continues a system of patriarchy. First, you joined Liberian women in fighting for equality and named yourself “Feminist in Chief.” For that, we have yet to see what that name means to you or your leadership. Wait, I take that back- your ruling party’s, Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), list of aspirants for the 2020 Senatorial Elections paints a clear picture of what that title means to you. Imagine a ruling party with the “Feminist in Chief” as their leader having no female representation. That is the thing about titles Mr. President, you can have them, but simply that without any action has zero impact.
Mr. President, where is the flyer addressing our broken system? How do you suggest we go about fixing this system that places the burden of proof and prosecution on survivors and their families? Where has your “Feminist in Chief” cape been when Liberian women dressed in Black every Thursday for the last few years to call attention to this issue? Where was it yesterday and today, August 25 & 26, 2020, when hundreds of protestors came to give you our petition to end rape in Liberia and you were nowhere to be found, even though you were informed beforehand?
Oh, and I know your people will have you believe that this is at least your way of trying to help. Mr. President, you are not in the position to try. We will not take “at least you tried” here and give you the regular Liberian did-well trophy. You have soared high above that now. We demand more than misinformed flyers and empty titles when our women and children are under attack.
How about a message on taking actions against the perpetrators who confessed to these heinous acts? Or providing resources for survivors or women on the frontlines fighting to make our voices heard? Where is the funding for adequate police work that will ensure survivors don’t have to transport their own perpetrators? Where is the work that is being done on aspects of our judicial system to ensure our women and children are protected? All of these and more are listed in the petition you declined to receive yesterday and today.
In fixing a new flyer, the message there should not be only about consent or “real men!” You owe it to survivors to share information about the prevalence of rape among us. You need to highlight that it’s happening every day and these perpetrators are our fathers, pastors, policemen, teachers, and real everyday people living among us. You need to add an action item on how you plan to address this disease in our society. A flyer about rape with your face has no impact. As our president, your leadership is crucial in taking concrete steps towards eradicating this disease from our society. Rape is a critical national issue and public health matter. We demand you go beyond flyers and DO BETTER!
Sincerely,
Zuleka: A Liberian woman feeling unprotected by her society and government.
P.S.
I went ahead and fixed your flyer.
