Last week, a delegation from Liberia arrived in New Delhi to glean a first-hand understanding of the political participation of women in India. The first such interaction of the kind between the two countries comes on the back of a series of developments in the country that further facilitates women’s involvement, namely the Women’s Reservation Bill, gender-focused budgetary allowances, and women-led development.

During their five-day visit, the group that comprises 12 lawmakers met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Women and Child Development Annapurna Devi, representatives from Digital India, Delhi Metro, and even undertook a field visit to a government-run One Stop Centre, which offers shelter to women affected by violence.

Following his meeting with the delegation, Jaishankar said he “exchanged views on development programmes, sharing the experiences of Jan Dhan Yojana, Mudra Yojana, SVANidhi, Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, Jal Jeevan Mission, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, and Mission Amrit Sarovar”, adding that he “appreciated their interest and reaffirmed India’s commitment towards deeper Global South partnership”.

As per officials, the delegation identified digital inclusion as a priority area for legislative attention and advocacy in Liberia. The One Stop Centre model under Mission Shakti (under Ministry of Women and Child Development) offered learning for strengthening coordinated, survivor-centred services in Liberia, they said.

Talking to during the visit, A H Monjurul Kabir, UN Women Country Representative, Liberia, said, “South-South cooperation works because countries learn from what others have actually built, through their own priorities and experiences.”

He further said that the delegates engaged directly with India’s experience in women-led development, political leadership, gender-responsive budgeting, economic empowerment, digitalisation and institutional responses to violence against women.

This knowledge-based mission has provided Liberian lawmakers with insights for their legislative, oversight and advocacy roles, he added.

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One of the delegates pointed out that India’s vision of women-led development, where women shape development as leaders, entrepreneurs and decision-makers rather than passive recipients of support, gave Liberian legislators a powerful lens for their work on women’s empowerment and gender-responsive governance.

Another, Francis Saidy Dopoh II, a senator representing River Gee County, said, “We saw how digital systems, public services and protection for women can be connected. The lessons for Liberia is that policy must be supported by systems that people can actually access.”

The delegation to India was facilitated by UN Women Liberia in partnership with the Women Legislative Caucus of Liberia, under the project ‘Women Legislators in Liberia: Prompting Voice, Leadership and Gender-Responsive Governance for Sustainable Development’. The study is funded by the India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) Fund through the UN Office for South-South Cooperation.

In 2007, India deployed the first-ever all-female police unit in Liberia, which served till 2016. Besides making a mark for their professionalism and courage, they also inspired many young women in Liberia to get into uniformed services.