- Ritual
- Sande
- Region and community
- リベリアのSandeを実践する共同体
- Age at the cultural rite
- Variable or not confirmed in the source
- Transition conditions
- Community initiation / Trial or training / New social responsibilities
- Legal age of majority
- LiberiaGeneral civil age of majority remains unidentified · Section 2.2 of the Domestic Relations Law lists marriage thresholds of 21 for men and 18 for women. The general civil age of majority remains unidentified.Liberia · Law and supporting sources 1 · Law and supporting sources 2
About the rite
Sande in Liberia initiates girls into women’s community membership through a period of seclusion, instruction by senior women, and graduation. The institution is also associated with female genital mutilation, coercion, health risks, and disruption of education. These harms must not be romanticized as cultural detail.
The government suspended Sande activities from 2022 and warned in 2024 that practices had resumed in rural areas. In August 2025, a legislator condemned the reported initiation and graduation of more than 500 girls in Lofa County. The number comes from the legislator’s statement as reported in the press, not an independent verification of every initiate. A further nationwide suspension of Poro and Sande was announced from 30 April 2025 until January 2026.
