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Kwami: Who were the people who influenced you most when you were growing up?
Leymah: I learned my Feminism 101 from my mother and grandmother. They were very spiritual and taught us to be independent and told us that whatever a boy could do, we, too, could do. In her time, my grandma Martha Laworo married three times because she never tolerated domestic violence. Anytime she was abused by any of her husbands she would pack and go. And without any formal education, she managed to be independent, and lived in a community where people treated her with respect. She spoke with authority and she had a mind of her own.

http://www.yesmagazine.org/peace-justice/leymah-gbowee-a-powerful-voice-for-peace



Q: What made you an activist?

Leymah Gbowee: First, my upbringing. I grew up in a home where my grandmother did not tolerate any kind of disrespect, suppression, or oppression. She told us the story of her life. She was married at the age of fifteen. The first time she experienced domestic violence, she left him. She never backed down. Very atypically for an African woman, she left her child with the man. Growing up in that home, every time somebody did something, if you went to her, she said to go back and fight for yourself.
Our home was always a place for political conversation. As time passed and the war came on, I got interested because it was part of my life. What really revved up my activism was my anger at the state of affairs in Liberia. Once that formed, I started being really interested in unfolding developments. It hasn’t stopped till today.



http://progressive.org/leymah-gbowee-interview



TED Talk-  Leymah Gbowee talks about a young woman who was poor and how she wanted to be educated. Eventually she says that this young woman was herself. This speech is about how far she has come and how she has successfully pursued her goal to be a role model and to be educated. (9:00-end of her talk)






I n t e r v i e w s

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