–Horace-Kollie Expands Viral Gender Campaign, Telling Men: “REAL MEN” Do Not Rape, Beat, Kill or Neglect Women and Children
MONROVIA, Liberia — Liberia’s Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Gbeme Horace-Kollie, has intensified her increasingly outspoken social-media campaign on gender relations, marriage and family responsibilities, this time turning directly to Liberian men with a seven-point declaration of what she calls “REAL MEN.”
The Minister’s latest Facebook message, posted just hours after another widely circulated post warning women about the legal implications of customary and statutory marriages, has added another dimension to what has rapidly become one of Liberia’s most talked-about gender conversations on social media.
Addressing what she described as the “brotherhood,” Horace-Kollie called on men to gather as she laid out seven standards that, in her view, define responsible manhood.
“MEN, your gather here,” she wrote.
“I came to announce that in the brotherhood, ley REAL MEN,” she added before listing seven behaviors she said should distinguish real men from men who abuse, neglect or disrespect women and children.
According to the Minister, real men do not rape, beat women, kill women, deny their wives, deny their own basic needs, neglect their children or disrespect women.
Her seven-point declaration reads:
- Do not rape.
- Do not beat on women.
- Do not kill women.
- Do not deny their wives.
- Do not deny their own belly.
- Do not neglect their children.
- Do not disrespect women.
The Minister then issued a direct instruction to women and others who encounter violations.
“Ma, if any of the brotherhood members try it, call 116 to report,” she wrote, adding that the number is free on any GSM network.
The latest intervention places violence against women, sexual violence, spousal responsibilities, child welfare and respect for women under one broad definition of responsible masculinity.
A Minister Taking the Marriage Debate to Facebook
Horace-Kollie’s latest message is the third major gender-related social-media intervention to generate widespread public discussion in recent weeks.
Her posts have increasingly moved beyond conventional government communication and into direct public engagement, with the Minister using Liberian English to address men and women in language that is immediately recognizable to ordinary Liberians.
Her approach has also made the posts highly shareable, with supporters praising her willingness to address sensitive family and gender issues while critics have challenged some of the legal interpretations and assumptions contained in her earlier statements.
The latest “REAL MEN” declaration comes only hours after the Minister warned women to exercise caution when entering traditional or customary marriages before statutory, or “white,” marriages.
“Women, Yor Leh Gather Here”
In that earlier post, Horace-Kollie explained that Liberia has customary or traditional marriage as well as statutory marriage.
“Women, yor leh gather here,” she began.
She argued that women entering traditional marriages should understand that customary marriage and statutory marriage operate under different legal frameworks.
According to her explanation, customary marriage can accommodate plural unions under applicable customary law, while statutory marriage is based on a one-man, one-woman arrangement.
“In statutory marriage, da one man, one woman bisney. No second wife inside,” she wrote.
She further referenced Section 16.1 of Liberia’s Penal Law, warning about the criminal implications of entering another marriage while already married under a statutory union.
Liberia’s Penal Law does contain provisions addressing bigamy and polygamy, while also recognizing circumstances involving customary law. Consequently, the precise legal circumstances of any individual marriage dispute can depend on the nature and status of the marriage involved.
The Minister’s broader message to women was that they should understand the legal consequences of the type and sequence of marriage they enter.
Her conclusion was simple:
“Women, let’s be mindful.”
From Women’s Warning to Men’s Responsibility
The latest post effectively reverses the direction of the conversation.
Where her marriage post told women to be cautious, the new message tells men to be accountable.
The Minister’s definition of a “real man” goes well beyond physical strength or the traditional social expectations often associated with masculinity.
She instead defines responsible manhood through restraint, respect, fidelity, personal responsibility, protection of children and rejection of violence.
The inclusion of rape, domestic violence and killing places the post squarely within the Ministry’s broader mandate to address violence against women and children.
Her call for women to use 116 also gives the message a practical component rather than leaving it as a statement of principle.
The 116 Hotline
The Minister specifically directed women to report abusive behavior through 116, describing the service as free across GSM networks.
The 116 Child Helpline has historically been associated with child-protection reporting in Liberia, providing a mechanism through which cases involving children can be reported and referred for assistance.
The Ministry of Gender and its partners have also used hotline mechanisms as part of broader efforts to improve reporting and response to violence and abuse.
For the Minister, however, the latest message appears designed to encourage immediate reporting rather than silence.
The instruction is particularly significant in a society where domestic violence and other forms of gender-based violence can remain underreported because of stigma, economic dependence, family pressure and fear of retaliation.
A Seven-Point Definition of Manhood
Perhaps the most striking element of Horace-Kollie’s message is the way she reframes the phrase “real men.”
Rather than defining manhood around authority over women, financial status or dominance within the household, her seven-point list places emphasis on nonviolence, responsibility and respect.
A real man, according to her post, does not use violence against women.
He does not sexually assault women.
He does not kill women.
He does not abandon his responsibilities toward his wife or children.
And he does not disrespect women.
The message also contains an unusual phrase: “Do not deny their own belly.”
In the context of the Minister’s recent posts, the phrase appears connected to her continuing argument that men should not neglect their own welfare or become passive about their responsibilities within marriage and family life.
That theme echoes her earlier intervention concerning unemployed married men and household support.
The Post That Started the Broader Debate
On August 27, Horace-Kollie caused another major social-media reaction when she urged unemployed or non-income-earning married men whose wives were working to report their spouses if the women allegedly refused to support them and their children.
“Men, particularly married men, if you na geh work or not earning an income, and your wife is working or earning an income and she is not supporting you and the children, please be courageous enough to come to the Ministry of Gender and report it,” she wrote.
The Minister said the Ministry could invoke provisions of Liberia’s Domestic Relations Law in dealing with such complaints.
That post quickly became controversial.
Supporters said the Minister was drawing attention to the principle that family obligations should not be viewed solely through the lens of men providing for women.
Critics, including family-law practitioner Cllr. Moriah Yeakula, challenged the Minister’s interpretation of the law, arguing that the statutory provision she cited contains specific conditions concerning a husband’s inability to support himself and the likelihood of becoming a public charge.
The resulting debate pushed Liberia’s family law, marital obligations and gender equality into mainstream social-media discussion.
Now, Horace-Kollie Is Speaking Directly to Men
The latest “REAL MEN” post appears to broaden the Minister’s campaign beyond the question of who should financially support a household.
It moves the conversation toward how men should behave within relationships and society.
The message is particularly forceful because it places several of Liberia’s most serious social problems—rape, domestic violence, femicide, child neglect and disrespect for women—under the same conversation about masculinity.
It also makes clear that, in the Minister’s view, being a man is not simply about providing money.
A man who provides financially but abuses his wife would not meet her definition of a “real man.”
Likewise, a man who has authority in his household but neglects his children would fall outside the standard she has set.
A Larger Conversation About Liberia’s Families
Taken together, Horace-Kollie’s recent posts reveal an emerging public campaign around marriage, gender responsibility and family welfare.
Her first major intervention asked whether husbands who do not earn an income should have legal recourse when working wives refuse to support them.
Her second warned women about the different legal implications of customary and statutory marriages.
Her newest message challenges men to reject violence and neglect and to embrace responsibility toward women and children.
The three posts, taken together, raise a much broader question about the kind of family relationships Liberia wants to promote.
Should marriage be understood primarily through traditional gender roles?
Should financial responsibility be shared according to circumstances rather than gender?
How should customary and statutory marriages be treated when legal disputes arise?
And perhaps most importantly, what does responsible manhood look like in contemporary Liberia?
Horace-Kollie’s answer, at least in her latest Facebook intervention, is unequivocal.
A real man does not rape. A real man does not beat women. A real man does not kill women. A real man does not neglect his children. And a real man respects women.
Social Media Becomes the Minister’s Public Square
The Minister’s decision to use Facebook as a platform for these messages has itself become part of the story.
Rather than issuing lengthy formal statements through traditional government channels, Horace-Kollie has been speaking directly to Liberians in a mixture of standard English and Liberian English.
That approach gives the messages an informal, conversational quality while allowing her to tackle subjects that can be difficult to discuss publicly.
It has also ensured that each post can quickly move beyond her immediate audience and become part of a national conversation.
The latest post is already positioned to generate another round of debate—this time not principally about marriage law, but about masculinity, violence, family responsibility and the behavior society should expect from men.
“Call 116”
At the heart of the Minister’s latest message is a simple instruction.
Women who encounter the behaviors she condemned should not remain silent.
“Call 116 to report,” she wrote.
By ending her seven-point declaration with a reporting directive, Horace-Kollie has moved the conversation from what men should not do to what women can do when those boundaries are violated.
Whether her increasingly direct social-media approach will lead to greater awareness, more reporting and stronger action against gender-based violence remains to be seen.
But one thing is already clear:
Liberia’s Gender Minister has made marriage, masculinity and gender responsibility a major public conversation—and she is having that conversation one Facebook post at a time.
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