Film on Johnson Sirleaf to air on PBS outlet

A documentary on the United Methodist president of Liberia will be shown March 21 on PBS in New York.

"Iron Ladies of Liberia," a behind-the-scenes look at the presidency of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first freely elected head of state in Africa, is part of the Independent Lens series at Channel 13/WNET. Filmmakers Daniel Junge, Siatta Scott-Johnson, Henry Ansbacher and Jonathan Stack explore the challenges faced by Johnson Sirleaf and the women who work with her.

Johnson Sirleaf is scheduled to speak on April 29 at the United Methodist General Conference, the denomination's top legislative body, in Fort Worth, Texas.

She also will accept the Bishop James K. and Eunice Mathews Bridge-Building Award from the United Methodist Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns during an April 29 dinner in Fort Worth.

After nearly two decades of civil war, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was inaugurated as Liberia's first elected female president on Jan. 16, 2006. The Harvard-educated economist and grandmother of eight, who had been exiled to Nigeria and nicknamed the Iron Lady, won a runoff election with 59 percent of the vote.

"Iron Ladies of Liberia," filmed with Johnson Sirleaf's cooperation, looks at the first year of her presidency and the unprecedented number of women appointed to leadership positions in her government. Those women include Beatrice Munah Sieh, national police chief; Antoinette Sayeh, minister of finance; Francis Johnson-Morris, minister of justice; Olubanke King Akerele, commerce minister; and Vabah Kazaku Gayflor, minister of gender.

For updates on other locations to see "Iron Ladies of Liberia," visit http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/ironladies/sirleaf.html.