Liberia: AFL Presses Grand Kru Women to Enlist in the Army

What the report says

The Armed Forces of Liberia are encouraging women in Grand Kru County who are at least 18 years old to prepare for an upcoming recruitment exercise, in a push to expand female participation in the military. According to the Liberian Observer report distributed by AllAfrica, a five-member AFL delegation delivered the message on Voice of Grand Kru Radio on Aug. 15, 2026, urging interested applicants to gather required documents and be ready to show good conduct.

The delegation said prospective recruits should have a birth certificate, voter’s ID and West African Senior School Certificate Examination diploma. It did not announce a date or venue for the exercise, saying only that it would take place soon. The message was framed as an effort to show that military service is open to women, with delegation members arguing that the work is not limited by gender.

The report says the outreach comes against a documented gender gap in the AFL. A UN Women project document cited in the article puts women’s representation in the force at 7.5%, with women making up 11.5% of officers and 7.1% of enlisted personnel. The same material says earlier assessments found women accounted for just 3% of the AFL in 2017. Separately, Liberia’s Defense Ministry and the AFL launched a UN Women-backed project in February 2026 to help place more women in peacekeeping roles and improve recruitment outreach.

Two female soldiers on the delegation described military service as a source of skills, discipline and opportunity, while also urging families not to discourage women from applying. The article notes that it could not be established whether the Grand Kru outreach was part of that broader project or a separate recruitment effort.