Why did Abigail Disney, granddaughter of Walt Disney, recently appear on Bill Moyers Journal?
The JOURNAL profiles Leymah Gbowee, a woman who led her fellow countrywomen to fight for and win peace in war-torn Liberia, and Abigail Disney, who produced the documentary of their struggle and triumph in the award-winning film PRAY THE DEVIL BACK TO HELL. For 15 years Liberia was gripped by civil war between the government of the corrupt and ruthless Charles Taylor, and warlords battling to overthrow him. More than 200,000 people had been killed and one out of three were made homeless. Leymah Gbowee and her countrywomen were so desperate they decided to try and put a stop to the fighting. Armed with only a simple white t-shirt, they took to the streets knowing they could well be beaten and killed. They became “the market women,” cajoling the fighting men and employing a tactic so old it was once used by the women of ancient Greece: No peace, no sex. Ultimately, Charles Taylor was toppled from power and banished from Liberia. The country then elected a new president, the first woman h
Bill Moyers Journal: Abigail Disney documents Leymah Gbowee’s quest to lead her fellow countrywomen to fight for and win peace in war-torn Liberia (9 p.m. KCET). This week, the JOURNAL examined the inspiring story of Leymah Gbowee and the extraordinary Liberian women’s movement chronicled in the documentary PRAY THE DEVIL BACK TO HELL. The film documents how Gbowee courageously and organized the women of Liberia to demand a peaceful resolution to the bloody civil war that for years had torn the country asunder. Risking rape and outright slaughter to protest non-violently, the women became a key force that helped to achieve a tentative peace, the exile of the brutal President Charles Taylor, and the election of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first elected female president of an African country. Reflecting on the women’s movement that helped transform Liberia, Leymah Gbowee said: “With these women, one of the things I realized was the untapped power that they had. These were the people who k
