Monrovia (AFP) - Liberia's female politicians profess near-universal respect for Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as she steps down after 12 years as president -- but many also say the glass ceiling that Africa's first female leader cracked remains firmly in place...
'Anti-feminist'?
Two Liberian feminists have caused a stir by asserting in international media that Sirleaf has "failed" women in the political realm, potentially tarring her legacy.
"I think President Sirleaf is anti-feminist when it comes to politics," Robtel Neajai Pailey, who co-authored a widely shared article with activist Korto Reeves Williams, told AFP.
She accuses Sirleaf of indifference to a call by Liberia's Women's Legislative Caucus for women to occupy 30 percent of political party leadership positions in 2010.
Pailey believes women fall behind in gaining affiliation with larger political parties and often lack their own funding, unlike some of this year's millionaire male candidates.
