Liberia must begin speaking more honestly and more boldly about one of the quietest but most destructive injustices unfolding daily across our society: the abandonment of parental responsibility by fathers.
Finance and Development Planning Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan touched a painful national nerve when he openly condemned men who father children and then disappear emotionally, morally, and financially, leaving women to carry the entire burden of raising families alone.
“There’s no other injustice that compares to that,” the Minister declared.
He was right.
Across Liberia, thousands of mothers are silently carrying impossible burdens. They wake up before sunrise to prepare children for school, struggle to find food, pay rent, settle school fees, provide emotional care, and somehow still go to work every day pretending to be strong. Many of these women are not abandoned because their husbands died. They are abandoned because the men who helped create those children simply walked away from responsibility.
Some fathers vanish completely.
Others remain physically present but contribute nothing meaningful to their children’s lives.
And perhaps worst of all are the men with financial means who deliberately neglect their children while living comfortably, dressing expensively, socializing publicly, and pretending fatherhood is optional.
That is not masculinity.
That is cowardice.
A real father does not abandon his children to suffer while he lives freely without guilt or responsibility. A real father does not wait for the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, the police, or the courts to force him to buy milk, pay school fees, or provide food for his own child.
As Minister Ngafuan correctly noted, it is disgraceful for a man to be publicly summoned before authorities just to perform basic parental duties that should come naturally.
Liberia has normalized this crisis for too long.
We joke about “baby ma business.” We laugh when men boast about having children everywhere without caring for them. We mock single mothers while excusing irresponsible fathers. Entire communities sometimes place more pressure on women to “manage” than on men to behave responsibly.
Meanwhile, children grow up emotionally wounded, financially deprived, and psychologically confused.
Many young boys raised without responsible fathers eventually repeat the same cycle. Many young girls grow up carrying deep emotional scars and distrust toward men. The consequences then spread into society through broken homes, crime, poverty, emotional instability, and generational dysfunction.
This is no longer simply a family issue.
It is a national crisis.
Liberian women are carrying the country on their backs.
From marketplaces to hospitals, schools, farms, offices, churches, and government institutions, mothers continue sacrificing beyond human limits. Some skip meals so their children can eat. Some remain in abusive relationships because they fear their children will suffer without support. Others work multiple jobs while fathers contribute absolutely nothing.
Yet despite all this, these same women continue producing educated children, disciplined citizens, and future leaders for Liberia.
They deserve far more respect than society often gives them.
Fatherhood is not merely biological reproduction. Any man can produce a child. True fatherhood requires sacrifice, consistency, protection, discipline, emotional presence, and responsibility.
A nation cannot become strong while fathers continue abandoning their duties.
Liberia must begin socially shaming irresponsible fatherhood instead of normalizing it. Communities, churches, mosques, schools, and families must teach boys that becoming a man means accepting responsibility — not escaping it.
Government institutions must also strengthen child support enforcement mechanisms so mothers are not left alone fighting endless legal and financial battles.
But beyond laws, Liberia needs a moral awakening.
Children are not burdens to dump on women.
Motherhood should not feel like punishment for women who simply chose to give life.
The greatest tribute Liberia can give its mothers is not speeches during Mother’s Day celebrations. It is demanding that fathers finally do their part.
Because no society can truly progress when mothers are forced to carry both motherhood and fatherhood alone.
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