Mighty Be Our Powers

In her memoir, Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War (2011), activist Leymah Gbowee recounts her life from her impoverished beginnings in Liberia through her political awakening in the aftermath of war and political upheaval.

Gbowee begins her account by noting that in reporting on the war in Liberia, journalists interviewed boys and men, who offered viewers macho and violent imagery. She notes that if you re-watch those news stories you will find the women in the background. She notes that this is how women are regarded; she was once asked if she was raped during the war, and when she replied that she was not, the journalist lost all interest in her.

Gbowee discusses her childhood, beginning with her joyous graduation from high school celebration. Her family not being wealthy, it was not guaranteed that she would be able to finish school, but with the good grades she achieved, it seems possible that she might go to college. She enjoys drinks and dinner with her friends and family, and receives gifts, including a new pair of boots.

A few weeks later, the rebel army arrives, and she and her family have to flee to a local church for safety, bringing only what they can grab and carry. She leaves the boots, assuming she will be able to get them later. She writes that she came to wish she had taken them. The war intensifies and life deteriorates; food becomes scarce and rice becomes known as “gold dust.” Gbowee recounts the many atrocities she witnessed committed by Charles Taylor and his rebels.

Gbowee meets Daniel, and they begin a romantic relationship. She recounts the abusive nature of her relationship with Daniel, who is violent and neglectful, but she has four children with him, and ultimately, does not regret being with him. Even though two of her children were the products of rape by Daniel, she loves them fiercely and counts them among her blessings.

Gbowee’s family survives, finding a place at Buduburam, a Liberian refugee camp in Ghana. Life in the camp is not much better—conditions are terrible, and there isn’t much more food. Worse, the entire social fabric of Liberia, which had relied on family relationships, has been destroyed. During this period, Gbowee moves back and forth between camps in Ghana and life in Liberia, trying to make a life for her children while enduring Daniel’s sporadic abuse. Almost a year after arriving at the camp, Gbowee decides to leave, believing she can’t do worse and needing to get away from Daniel. She returns alone to her home in Liberia.

When the war finally ends, Gbowee returns to her family’s home and takes part in a three-month training program run by UNICEF designed to train people to help others traumatized by the war. The training leads Gbowee to realize she has been traumatized by Daniel. Gbowee begins volunteering to help refugees and other victims of the war and begins working toward getting her long-delayed university degree.

Gbowee forges alliances with other women who find themselves victimized by war and social upheaval. She takes on the role of Liberian coordinator with Women in Peacebuilding Network (WIPNET), establishing herself as a leading voice in the Women’s Peace movement.

When Charles Taylor is elected president of Liberia, Gbowee is one of many who hopes it is a sign of a new period of stability. Unfortunately, this does not happen. Within a few years, a second civil war breaks out. Gbowee meets with a group of women every week to pray for peace. Over the course of months, this group becomes a formal organization called the Christian Women’s Peace Initiative (CWI), with Gbowee in charge. Thousands of women from various backgrounds gather to demonstrate for peace using non-violent tactics such as sit-ins.

Gbowee also organizes a sex strike, which she admits did little to make a difference, but did gain them a great deal of media attention. Charles Taylor finally grants the women an audience, meeting with Gbowee and others along with several of his government ministers. Gbowee takes her demonstrators to the peace talks, informing the negotiators that the women would form a human chain and refuse to let anyone leave until a peace plan has been negotiated. When the peace deal is finally announced, many give Gbowee and the women credit for forcing the first step toward a real solution to the conflict.

Gbowee then leads a campaign for Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who becomes the president of Liberia in 2005; Gbowee shares the Nobel Peace Prize with Sirleaf and Tawakel Karman in 2011.

Gbowee ends her memoir on a hopeful note, admitting that though many challenges still exist, the will to address them is there; there is hope for a better future.