LIBERIA:
Liberian Woman in the Centre Circle

7/13/2010 4:11:57 AM

Monrovia - Despite an increased number of female representatives in Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s cabinet, women in the country still remain firmly on the bottom rung of society. They're the most vulnerable members of the community in terms of access to education, access to health and access to justice.



Vivian Howard is the country’s first and only female referee in Liberia with a FIFA badge. Life as single mother is not easy for her. She gets no support from her daughter Blessing's father, relying entirely on her income as a referee. The Liberian Football Association pays her around 90 U.S. dollars a month. Despite the dismal pay Howard lets none of this inhibit her as she controls a match featuring football players who star in various leagues. After 14 years of civil war, Liberians voted in Johnson-Sirleaf saying that what men can do women can do. Howard says that she wants to encourage other women to do what she can do. For Vivian Howard, international recognition not only means more money for the men’s team, but more money for the referees and the women’s game too. (END/RADIO EDITOR/2010)

Back to radio index >>