Leymah Gbowee just might be the most insanely awesome woman you’ve never heard of. She’s at the core of a new documentary called Pray the Devil Back to Hell that chronicles the titanic strength and ingenuity of the thousands of Liberian women who organized in the 1990’s and in 2003 to bring an end to civil war in their country. Armed only with white t-shirts and the desperate desire to bring about change, the women marched and sang, organized a sex strike, demanded a meeting with the corrupt Liberian president Charles Taylor, and staged a silent protest in front of the Presidential Palace when peace talks were faltering. In the face of rampant violence and oppression and under incredible personal strain and risk, they made themselves the catalyst behind a peace resolution being reached, and the exile of Taylor. The first female head of state in Africa, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, was elected President of Liberia in 2005. Watch Leymah on the Colbert Report and learn more after the jump!
Pray the Devil Back to Hell came about through Leymah’s willingness to share her story with two American women, Gini Reticker and Abigail Disney, and the result has been widely praised by critics and activists. Leymah was awarded the Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in May–check out her jaw-dropping speech, preceded by the trailer for the film, here. She and other women like her are working tirelessly to bring women together in war-torn nations to constructively and actively demand peace. Learn more about this amazing story and join the September Global Peace Tour, which aims to screen the film in as many places as possible, to coincide with the United Nations International Peace Day on September 21st. Below is Leymah on The Colbert Report–she just kicks so much ass.-Devan
