April 1, 2003
A united group of Christian and Muslim women staged their first protest against the ongoing civil war in Liberia. Using the radio to spread the word, social worker Leymah Gbowee and Janet Johnson Bryant, a journalist, encouraged the women of Monrovia to speak out for peace. Wearing all white clothing the women gathered at the fish market every day for a week. They sat, danced, and sang for peace. Some held banners that read, “The women of Liberia want peace now.” As the week went on, over 2,500 women gathered on the market lawn. On 11 August, Taylor resigned from the presidency of Liberia, terms for the peace agreement were announced and UN Peacekeeping forces were ordered to enter Monrovia.
