God made woman then he jerked
“God made woman then he jerked”, reads a mural on the streets of Monrovia, Liberia, a country mostly remembered for its fourteen-year civil war and, more recently, Ebola epidemic.
As Liberia celebrated its 10th anniversary of peace in summer 2013, and with a woman occupying its highest political office, I was keen to explore the lived experience of a post-war generation of girls growing up among a war-scarred population. While I specifically focused on girls living in West Point, one of Monrovia’s townships, it is important to bear in mind that the problems they face are typical for the majority of urban dwellers. Only 8% of Monrovians have access to piped water and 1% to the electricity grid. Using generators makes the cost of electricity one of the most expensive in the world according to the UN.
