The Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development (EJS Center) condemns in the strongest possible terms the coordinated campaign of cyber harassment, defamation, and character assassination targeting women in Liberia’s public and political life, most recently directed at Counselor Moriah Yeakula, a proud member of the Amujae Initiative.

We have watched with deep concern as Counselor Yeakula has been subjected to malicious and unverified allegations, the threatened circulation of intimate imagery, deliberate attacks on her personal life, and a sustained effort to humiliate and silence her. These attacks are not random. They are calculated. They are designed to do one thing: remind women who dare to lead, who dare to speak, who dare to hold power accountable, that there is a price for their courage.

We refuse to accept that price as normal.

What has happened to Counselor Yeakula is not an isolated event. Liberia is witnessing a dangerous culture where women are increasingly becoming targets of insults, harassment, and character assassination on social media and in public spaces. A woman’s worth, her leadership, and her professional contributions must never be reduced to gossip about her personal life. The weaponization of private matters against women in public life reflects deeply rooted double standards that continue to undermine women’s safety, dignity, and participation. Women have the right to participate freely in leadership, governance, and national conversations without fear of intimidation, cruelty, or public ridicule.

We have seen this before. When a woman rises, a familiar machinery mobilizes, not with policy arguments or evidence-based debate, but with rumor, with shame, and with the threat of exposure. This is violence. And we call it what it is.

In Defense of Counselor Moriah Yeakula

Counselor Yeakula is a lawyer, a feminist, a family advocate, and a woman who has dedicated years of service to the advancement of women and girls in Liberia. She co-founded the Liberia Cancer Resource Initiative, has provided pro bono legal services to indigent women and girls, and has worked tirelessly for good governance, women’s political participation, and ending gender inequality and all forms of violence against women and girls.

A single unverified allegation cannot outweigh decades of demonstrated impact. A rumor cannot overshadow real, lived leadership.

The EJS Center stands firmly with Counselor Yeakula. We are proud to count her among the women of the Amujae Initiative, women who are being prepared not merely to survive public life in Liberia, and across Africa, but to transform it. That potential for transformation is precisely what these attacks seek to extinguish.

A Call to Action

We call on the Government of Liberia to treat online violence against women as the serious threat it is, and to accelerate the passage and enforcement of robust legislation that protects women from digital harassment and the non-consensual threatened or actual distribution of intimate imagery.

We call on all political actors, media institutions, and public figures, regardless of affiliation, to reject the use of personal attacks, fabricated content, and sexual shaming as tools of any kind. While accountability is important in any democratic society, individuals should not be publicly destroyed or dehumanized in the process.

We call on the media and civil society to refuse to amplify unverified, malicious content targeting women, and to hold accountable those who produce and circulate it.

To Counselor Yeakula, you have shown this country what it means to stand with grace, strength, and dignity under fire. The Amujae family stands with you, not only because of who you are to this movement, but because of what your courage represents to every young woman and girl watching.

And we call on every woman in leadership, in Liberia and across the continent, to know that you are not alone. The EJS Center exists because we believe, with unwavering conviction, that when women lead, communities and nations are transformed for the better. That belief does not waver in the face of harassment or propaganda.