Wars have been the most horrifying experiences of the humanity since the beginning of the human history. The horrors and sufferings the wars bring to people and the damage they cause to the countries are immense. This is why various ways of conflict resolution and prevention of armed conflicts have been created and applied in different situations, but it is a well known fact that when the things get out of control it is very hard to do anything to change the situation and find the compromise. Most of the wars happen and go on for years because the conflicting sides have very little points of agreement and this makes the compromise basically unachievable.
This was the case in Liberia during the First and Second Civil Wars that happened one right after the other. The conflict was finally resolved by the Women’s Movement led by Leymah Gbowee. This nonviolent movement united thousands of women of Liberia praying and shouting for peace. The Women’s Mass Action for Peace put an end to the Civil War and changed the political landscape in the country bringing democracy and understanding. This event has become a unique happening in the African history demonstrating the power of women and of faith, it showed that nonviolent persistence can make a difference and help save millions of lives and stop the heated armed conflict that lasted for fourteen years. The Award-winning documentary about the Women’s Mass Action for Peace in Liberia made by Abigail Disney reveals the horrific experiences these women were put through before and after they joined the Action, the reasons that forced them risk their lives and raise together joining their efforts in the fight for peace, it uncovers the ways the women of Liberia applied to find understanding and help the parties reach an agreement in spite of all the different goals and desires.
The documentary about Liberian women’s movement is called “Pray the Devil Back to Hell” because the Action first started as a union of Christian women and communities in the struggle for peace. It later united Christian and Muslim women of Liberia and brought them together in their Action for Peace. Prayers and faith were what these women based their beliefs on. Religion was the main source of power and confidence for the activists. The themes raised in the documentary are the agreement between people of different religions, the achievement of mutual understanding in the situation of an aggressive and uncontrolled conflict, the ability of love to defeat rage, the clash of female and male approaches towards conflict resolution, the nurturing wisdom of women and the role of culture in the society and its ability to change the political landscape of the whole country.
Since ancient times, all African cultures were based on deep respect towards women as the creators of life. The role of men was to conquer and provide protection. Males and females in the original African cultures were the equal parts of the whole creating harmony by uniting and co-operating. The social status of women in Africa was largely affected by colonialism. First of all, it created the economical dependence of women from the men, and as a result, it brought patriarchal structure to the society and women lost the opportunities of obtain leading roles. The Liberian Women’s Movement was the action created to awake the power of women and heal the wounds of the war by love and prevention of violence.
Even though the Civil Wars in Liberia that lasted for fourteen years brought a lot of aggression, abuse, wild disrespect, sufferings and humiliation to women of all ages the remains of genuine African cultural background and respect towards mothers and sisters was still there. Women headed by Leymah Gbowee worked hard to make the men of Liberia see reason, forget about aggression and start working for peace (Pray the Devil Back to Hell).
What I liked the most about the documentary is the observation that the women’s attitude towards the raging men. Soldiers and warlords were treated as children that became too excited about the game and forgot about reality, got sucked into the process, lost control and needed the reasonable and wise mothers to help them realize that it was time to stop acting on impulse and passions and start using common sense finally. This attitude was the best and only way to forgive and let go the horrible crimes committed by soldiers, most of who, in fact, were misled and lost children deeply unhappy with their lives (Pray the Devil Back to Hell). Of course, it was painful to hear all the awful stories of Liberian women starving in camps, being constant refugees in their own county and trying to save their children, but without knowing these stories one cannot realize the importance and value of the heroic act of these women.
The Women’s Movement in Liberia served as an excellent example of the difference women can make if they unite the efforts. Liberian Action for Peace put an end to the wars and started democratization of the country, respect of women’s rights, political liberalization and created a massive international influence in Africa (Tripp, Kwesiga, Mungwa, 30).
Works Cited
Disney, Abigail E. Pray the Devil Back to Hell. 2011. Web.
Tripp, Aili Mari, Isabel Casimiro, Joy Kwesiga, Alice Mungwa. African Women’s Movements: Changing Political Landscapes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Print.