Etweda Cooper

Etweda Ambavi Gbenyon Cooper, known as Sugars, is a Liberian politician and peace activist. She has been described as "the doyenne" and "the godmother" of the Liberian women's movement.[1][2][3]

Etweda Cooper
Superintendent of Grand Bassa County
In office
2012–2015
Mayor of Edina, Liberia
In office
2010–2012
Personal details
BornEdina, Liberia
OccupationWomen's rights and peace activist
Awards1325 Award
NicknameSugars

In 2010, she was elected mayor of Edina, Liberia. She then served as superintendent of Grand Bassa County from 2012 to 2015.

Early life and education

Etweda Cooper was born in Edina, into an elite family descended from freed slaves who left the United States for Liberia in the 1800s. She grew up speaking Bassa and Liberian English.[2][4]

Cooper is known across the country by her nickname, Sugars.[5][6]

She left Liberia as a young woman to attend university in Bern, Switzerland.[4]

Activism

First Liberian Civil War

After returning to Liberia, Cooper became involved in the peace movement in 1994.[4]

As a co-founder and onetime chair of the Liberian Women’s Initiative,[7][8][9] she served as a key figure in women's peace activism during the first Liberian civil war.[10][11][12]

In 1998, Cooper was briefly arrested by the Liberia National Police after denouncing the murder of a woman at the hands of security forces.[10][13][14]

Second Liberian Civil War and aftermath

As a part of Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace in the early 2000s, she played a major role in the nonviolent resistance campaign that led to the end of Liberia's second civil war.[15][16]

Cooper has also been involved in the Women in Peacebuilding Network (WIPNET), part of the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding.[1]

After the second civil war ended, she helped organize women in favor of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's 2005 presidential campaign, in which Sirleaf was elected the first female president of an African country.[5]

Cooper appears in the documentary Pray the Devil Back to Hell about women's role in the Liberian peace process.[17][18] In 2006, she became the first-ever recipient of the 1325 Award from the Dutch government.[19][20]

Political career

In April 2010, Cooper was elected mayor of her hometown, Edina, which she aimed to turn into an eco-friendly, safe town that attracts tourists.[1][4][7]

In 2012, she was appointed superintendent of Grand Bassa County by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and confirmed by the Liberian Senate. On her appointment, she became mayor emeritus of Edina.[21][22]

Her time in office included overseeing the county's response to the Western African Ebola virus epidemic.[23] Later in her term, Cooper became chairperson of Liberia's Superintendent Council.[24] She resigned as the county's superintendent in 2015, citing a "personal reason."[25][26]

In 2017, she ran to represent Grand Bassa in the Liberian House of Representatives, as a member of the True Whig Party, but she was not elected.[27]

References
  1. "Feminism's Vital Role in Rebuilding Liberia". The Root. 2010-12-24. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  2. Gbowee, Leymah (2011). Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War. Mithers, Carol Lynn. New York: PublicAffairs. ISBN 978-0-9842951-5-9. OCLC 751747258.
  3. Tripp, Aili Mari (2015). Women and Power in Postconflict Africa. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781316432495.
  4. Robbins, Ed (2011-02-08). "Liberia Beyond Monrovia: A Small-Town Mayor's Big Visions for the Future". International Reporting Project.
  5. Cooper, Helene (2017-03-05). "How Liberian Women Delivered Africa's First Female President". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  6. Cooper, Helene (2017). Madame President: The Extraordinary Journey of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9781451697353.
  7. Tharoor, Ishaan (2011-02-24). "In Liberia, a Peace Activist Becomes a Mayor". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  8. Godbole, Ramona (2011-01-13). "A Lens Into Liberia: Experiences From IRP Gatekeepers". Wilson Center. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  9. Anastasion, Danielle (2008-01-02). "Female PeaceKeepers Fight Violence in Liberia". NPR. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  10. Press, Robert M. (2015), "Peaceful Resistance during a Civil War", Ripples of Hope, How Ordinary People Resist Repression Without Violence, Amsterdam University Press, pp. 175–202, ISBN 978-90-8964-748-1, JSTOR j.ctt1963121.10, retrieved 2021-01-22
  11. Press, Robert M. (2015), "Nonviolent Resistance in Abeyance", Ripples of Hope, How Ordinary People Resist Repression Without Violence, Amsterdam University Press, pp. 151–174, ISBN 978-90-8964-748-1, JSTOR j.ctt1963121.9, retrieved 2021-01-22
  12. Press, Robert M. (March 2011). "Principle and Ambition: Human Rights Activism in Liberia and Policy Implications for Taming Authoritarian Regimes". Journal of Human Rights Practice. 3 (1): 113–127 – via Oxford Academic Journals.
  13. Toure, Augustine (2002-04-01). "The Role of Civil Society in National Reconciliation and Peacebuilding in Liberia". International Peace Institute. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  14. "Liberian Daily News Bulletin". Africa News Service. 1998-07-16.
  15. McClure, Laura (2010-11-22). "Liberia: African Feminists Look Like This". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  16. Bannerman, Lucy (2008-01-12). "We are women, hear us roar". The Times of London. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  17. Pray the Devil Back to Hell (2008) - IMDb, retrieved 2021-01-22
  18. Schechner, Sam (2007-08-17). "March of the Inconvenient Truths". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  19. Chenoy, Anuradha M. (November 2009). "Women War and Peace: Security Council Resolution 1325 and others" (PDF). 1000 PeaceWomen.
  20. "The Liberia National Action Plan for the Implementation of United Nations Resolution 1325" (PDF). Republic of Liberia. 2009-03-08.
  21. "Grand Bassa Supt. Promises Youth, Women Empowerment". The New Dawn Liberia. 2012-03-27. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  22. "Bassa Glows Under Supt. Etweda S. Cooper". AllAfrica.com. 2013-07-15.
  23. "Emulating Supt. Cooper's Initiative". AllAfrica.com. 2014-07-21.
  24. "UNDP dialogues with partners on harmonizing Social Cash Transfer". The New Dawn Liberia. 2015-04-17. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  25. David, Sampson G. (2015-09-17). "Supt. Cooper explains rationale for her resignation". The New Dawn Liberia. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  26. "Grand Bassa Supt. resigns". The New Dawn Liberia. 2015-09-11. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  27. "Liberia 2017 Presidential and Representative Results 2017 for Voting Precinct 09122 in Grand Bassa County". NEC Liberia. 2017-10-10. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
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