Leymah Gbowee's Mighty Be Our Power

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A humanitarian in Liberia named Leymah Gbowee wrote a book called Mighty be our Powers describing her experience of fighting for peace during the civil war. Leymah had faced tragedies which caused her to no longer trust men. During the Liberian war, the women of Liberia held the country on their shoulders while the men who were running it, were destroying it. Although Leymah eventually was able to trust men, she could not trust men for the majority of the book because of her past interactions with Daniel, and the political leaders in Liberia. Leymah was unable to trust Tunde, the man who could cherish her and be there for her, because of her past experiences with men. Leymah had experienced so much betrayal and abuse that she found it hard to even believe that Tunde would be there for her as anything more than a friend. After she confided in him about her fears on raising a child without her ex-lover Daniel, he told her he would be there but she did not believe him. “‘What if I told you that I would be there for you and this child?’ said Tunde. Leymah replied, ‘I would say you are lying. Men are not to be trusted’. But Tunde was there” (Gbowee 79). This inability to trust is the effect of …show more content…

These group’s leaders were both men, named: President Doe and Charles Taylor. Leymah, like other women fought for peace in the country, while the men fought for war. Subconsciously, these acts caused many women to mistrust the men. In addition, the president of Liberia was committing foul acts against the country “We all knew the evil things Doe and his men had done” (Gbowee, 35). This quote shows how the men in the government were betraying their people, and the people knew it. The betrayal that occurred between the countries’ leaders and its people would cause Leymah to lose even more trust in