Liberia, May 11 -- Summary:

By Joyclyn Wea, gender correspondent with New Narratives

Walk into Liberia's Capitol Building during a legislative session, and the gender imbalance is difficult to miss. In the 73-member House of Representatives, just eight lawmakers are women. In the Senate, women occupy just two of 30 seats.

That reality is why many women's rights advocates initially welcomed a House of Representatives vote this month to amend Liberia's elections law to require political parties to nominate women for at least 30 percent of seats in legislative elections.

But the celebration quickly gave way to criticism. Women's groups and female lawmakers said a clause inserted into the House version of the bill could allow political pa...