Liberia: Militant Women on the Rise

It may come as a surprise to some that a new report from the United Nations says former female combatants in Liberia are TWICE as likely to take up arms again to "escape poverty."

The idea of mothers holding machine guns and machetes as mercenaries seems strange, especially in Western cultures where the majority of mothers aren't faced with civil war.

But in nature, mothers are some of the fiercest fighters. There's a saying in America that someone could be as "mad as a mother bear." I think every country must have its own version of this saying for the concept goes way beyond culture. The moral of the saying: do not endanger children or you WILL have to deal with a very mad, very fierce mother!

The instinct to protect home and family has been a part of the female psyche since the dawn of time.

I strongly suggest checking out the U.N. report on-line. It goes beyond talking just about the women of Liberia and discusses the prospects for long-term peace in a country where 19 percent of those surveyed said they would go back to war. The article also talks about a very colorful character called "Mary Die Die" who was a female combatant during the civil war.  Her husband was killed in 2001. Click here to read the short report.

What do you think about women in combat? How about the prospects for peace in Liberia? Drop me an e-mail with your thoughts.