Security-Liberia - Thirteen per cent of the Liberian security forces are women, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf said Friday in Dakar, Senegal, as she was awarded the Africa Prize for excellence for the genre, 'African Gender Award 2011' on the sidelines of the 4th International Conference on Gender which ended Saturday with what is called the 'Dakar Declaration'. Johnson-Sirleaf noted that 'when the clash of weapons was heard, when everyone was running, men fighting, it was mainly women - despite being abused and raped - who challenged the men in the quest for peace, while protecting children. It is through them that I am what I am now.

'It is for these reasons that in our development strategies, we have focused on improving women's conditions. We will also focus on vocational training for women in the economic field, while speeding up literacy,' she disclosed, adding that women are also involved in the field of infrastructure such as building roads and schools.

According to her 'Liberian women are not rich yet but they are proud to be able to speak freely and their children go to school and are not won by fear.'

The International Conference on gender parity is co-organized by the Senegalese Ministry of Culture, Gender and Quality of life and the Gender is My Agenda (GIMAC) network and is coordinated by a NGO, Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS).

Pana 19/06/2011