This woman will be great: Lynn Sherr on Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

Friday, March 27, 2009

In the last five years, Liberia has made the transition from Charles Taylor, a warlord accused of hate crimes, to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first woman democratically elected to lead an African nation. It's a change that has made Liberia a focal point for the advancement of women in Africa and worldwide. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is now coming to the U.S, and releasing a book about her life, This Child Will Be Great. She's also just been interviewed by Lynn Sherr, special correspondent for World Focus on PBS.

"This is a country that is war-torn. There are bullet holes everywhere. It's hot. It's humid. It's steamy. But I have to tell you it is inspiring because they are really trying to come back."
—Lynn Sherr, special correspondent for World Focus on PBS, on Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

For more, head to worldfocus.org

Here is a 2007 tribute to President Sirleaf created when she was honored at the Africare Bishop Walker Dinner and received the 2007 Bishop John T. Walker Distinguished Humanitarian Award.

Guests:

Lynn Sherr

Comments [1]

pliny from nyc

on her meeting with the Catholic Tony Blair from the Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/19/nobel-peace-prize-law-homosexuality?INTCMP=SRCH

The Nobel peace prize winner and president of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, has defended a law that criminalises homosexual acts, saying: "We like ourselves just the way we are."

In a joint interview with Tony Blair, who was left looking visibly uncomfortable by her remarks, Sirleaf told the Guardian: "We've got certain traditional values in our society that we would like to preserve."

Liberian legislation classes "voluntary sodomy" as a misdemeanour punishable by up to one year in prison, but two new bills have been proposed that would target homosexuality with much tougher sentences. The normally charismatic and eloquent Nobel laureate, when questioned, was brusque, "I won't sign any law that has to do with that area. None whatsoever," she said impatiently.

Mar. 21 2012 11:06 AM

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