Entries by Sandra Zerbo

This profile is the fourteenth in a series commissioned by TrustAfrica's MDG3 Project to showcase the work of inspirational women leaders in Francophone West and Central Africa.

In Mali there is a woman lawyer who devotes much of her time to denouncing violence and abuses against women and working to increase their political participation. Her name: Soyata Maïga. Since November 2007 she has served as the Special Reporter on the Rights of Women for the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), the main body for promoting and protecting human rights on the continent. Hers is a very strategic post for African women.

Maïga’s duties include studying issues related to women’s rights and identifying ways to ensure that decision-making processes address the underlying factors that create and perpetuate the violation of women’s rights. She also works to identify opportunities for the commission to take more effective actions to safeguard women’s rights and implement national and international legal instruments related to human rights.

Maïga is a native of Gao, near the frontier with Niger, an ethnically mixed zone populated by the Tuareg, Songhai and Hausa. She was the first girl in her family who was allowed to complete her education up to the senior high school level, earning her Diplôme d’Etudes Fondamentales from the Ecole de Ménaka. From there she went on to obtain her Baccalauréat at the Lycée de Jeunes Filles de Bamako, where she gravitated toward the legal sciences. In 1972 she enrolled at the national school of administration and four years later graduated first in her class. She went on to become a magistrate after studying at the Ecole Nationale de Magistrature de Paris.
Continue reading "Everyday Heroes: Soyata Maïga (Mali)"

This profile is the thirteenth in a series commissioned by TrustAfrica's MDG3 Project to showcase the work of inspirational women leaders in Francophone West and Central Africa.

The political involvement of women remains a major undertaking in Burkina Faso, where the accession of women to decision-making posts is still largely a dream. Women currently make up less than 4 percent of the National Assembly. Women still must work twice as hard to legitimize their position. For more than 15 years, one woman has fought for women’s rights, for their promotion and building of their capacities. Her name: Saran Sere-Sereme. She has even financed the construction of a training school for girls in her region of Sourou.

This woman has already achieved two major feats: first, she has served in the country’s Parliament for more than seven years; second, she was the youngest Deputy ever elected at the time. Sere-Sereme is also a very astute businesswoman who broke into the closed domain of building construction in Burkina Faso. Today she is the Director General of the Société de Bâtiment Frs. Matériels et Travaux Publics (SBFMT).

Looking back, 1968 was a year that was marked by a series of revolts and uprisings, around the world, especially among students. It was also in this year that Sere-Sereme was born in Sourou, a region that is widely considered the nation’s breadbasket. Young Saran was quite smart and she paved a stellar academic path and received her degree in business management in 1993.
Continue reading "Everyday Heroes: Saran Sere-Sereme (Burkina Faso)"

This profile is the twelfth in a series commissioned by TrustAfrica's MDG3 Project to showcase the work of inspirational women leaders in Francophone West and Central Africa.

We take you now to the Sahel — specifically to Magaria, in the eastern part of Niger — to meet a woman whose accomplishments in advocating for the basic rights of women and for education and literacy of girls are recognized by many. Her name: Nana Aicha Mouctari Foumakoye. A teacher by training, she went on to be a top-ranked education inspector and in February 2004 became the first woman to serve as Niger’s ambassador to Canada.

This woman, who is viewed by some as combative, demanding, and also helpful, finds it quite bothersome to talk about herself. Others find her to be courageous, audacious and politically sharp. Her nickname is “la femme au pantalon de fer” — the woman in the iron pants.

Over her extensive professional career, Foumakoye has worked as a high school and middle school teacher, a school director, an advisor in preschool education, and director of studies and curriculum at the Ministry of National Education and Secondary Instruction.
Continue reading "Everyday Heroes: Nana Aichatou Foumakoye (Niger)"

This profile is the eleventh in a series commissioned by TrustAfrica's MDG3 Project to showcase the work of inspirational women leaders in Francophone West and Central Africa.

Since 2008, the University of Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD) in Dakar has been ranked first among francophone African universities and 13th among the top 100 African universities. Yet fewer than 30 percent of its teachers are women. Apologists explain that women were not granted access to higher education until just after independence came in 1960. However, women have demonstrated that they are as intelligent as their male counterparts and that when given equal opportunity they can excel as university students and later in the field of teaching.

We draw for you now a profile of a woman historian who is also president of a civil society movement and a professor in the Department of History at UCAD. Her name: Penda Mbow. Since 1986 she has taught courses on the History of the European and Islamic Middle Ages. Fluent in Arabic, she holds a doctorate in the History of the Middle Ages (5th century to 16th century).

Mbow is today one of the rare specialists in Africa. She is also president of Mouvement Citoyen, a civil society organization that seeks to build citizens’ capacities so they might fully assume their citizenship and to empower them to judge and make fully informed decisions on social and political issues. She also works with youth and women, taking care to ensure that a balance of boys and girls constitutes the backbone of her movement.
Continue reading "Everyday Heroes: Penda Mbow (Senegal)"

This profile is the tenth in a series commissioned by TrustAfrica's MDG3 Project to showcase the work of inspirational women leaders in Francophone West and Central Africa.

It’s May 2010 and Cameroon is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its independence at a time when several other African countries are doing the same. If the country is held up as an example of stability and peace, a lot remains to be done. The situation of women has not greatly evolved, they are still marginalized and the government has never made the promotion and political participation of women a priority. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that the women who are in the National Assembly do not advocate for the accession of women to decision-making posts. In the academic realm, at university level in Cameroon, women are wronged. Out of the seven public universities in the country, there is not one woman Rector.

It was within this context in 2003 that Justine Diffo, the educator and activist for women’s rights, founded the Institut de Formation et de Coopération pour le Développement (Institute of Training and Cooperation for Development) to strengthen the capacities of women, improve the effectiveness of development programs and promote gender equality.

A strong advocate for mainstreaming gender in decision-making and public policy processes, she has helped establish networks for women mayors (Réseau de femmes maires du Cameroun), women parliamentarians (le Réseau des Parlementaires pour la Promotion du Genre) and women in higher education (le déploiement des actions stratégiques de l’Association des Femmes Enseignantes du Supérieur, or AFES). She has also lent her support to a national campaign on civic education and electoral awareness for greater involvement of women in Cameroon’s 2011–2012 electoral process. She is the first woman ever appointed to head of a division in a State university, having been named more than a year ago to head of the Department of Research and Development Administration Central of the University of Yaoundé II–SOA.
Continue reading "Everyday Heroes: Justine Diffo (Cameroon)"

This profile is the ninth in a series commissioned by TrustAfrica's MDG3 Project to showcase the work of inspirational women leaders in Francophone West and Central Africa.

There are many women working in the social services domain, but in other areas, including scientific and technical sectors such as civil engineering, aviation, aeronautics and agronomy, it is often far more difficult for them to progress. The same holds true for international development organizations, where it is often very difficult for women to reach senior positions or to make a significant impact. One woman, though, has succeeded in breaking this glass ceiling by being named the first woman Executive Director of Enda Tiers Monde in its 35 years of existence. Her name: Joséphine Ouédraogo.

Ouédraogo is a woman who has charted a very full and varied professional path. A sociologist by training, she started out working at the grassroots level in her native Burkina Faso and then moved on to work with government projects and programs as well as in the private sector. These opportunities enabled her to master the techniques of research, implementation and evaluation of rural development projects, promotion of women, creation of infrastructure and agricultural production.

In 1984 politics took hold of this mother of three when she became part of the government of the late President Thomas Sankara, who named her Minister of family development and national solidarity, a position she held until 1987. As Minister she advocated on behalf of marginalized groups and contributed to the development of country’s first Family Code and as well as the repeal of a law prohibiting the import and distribution of contraceptives.
Continue reading "Everyday Heroes: Joséphine Ouédraogo (Burkina Faso)"

This profile is the eighth in a series commissioned by TrustAfrica's MDG3 Project to showcase the work of inspirational women leaders in Francophone West and Central Africa.

The cause of women is a noble one that calls on all sectors of society to join in the fight for their promotion. Among those who advocate daily for the rights of their sisters all across Africa are women lawyers, journalists, teachers, legislators and business owners. In Mali, the voice of Fantani Touré rings out like a shout. Hers is the voice of a woman who has won battles against prejudice, against silence and against discouragement.

Touré is also notable for the fight she has led for several years against the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM). In so doing, she has demonstrated how all women in Mali and throughout Africa can contribute a building block to the cause on behalf of women. One of Mali’s best-known artists, she is also the initiator and founder of the international Voices of Bamako Festival (Voix de Bamako), a forum for discussing various topics related to women’s issues. For her myriad efforts, Touré was decorated in January 2011 with the prestigious Chevalier de l’Ordre et de la Valeur by the president of Mali Amadou Toumani Touré. The award was bestowed in recognition of her artistic talent and her activities on behalf of the promotion of women and human rights.

Touré is a descendant of the first inhabitants of Bamako, the grand religious marabouts, who were renowned throughout the country. She comes from a large, extended family which is native to the legendary popular quarter of Bamako called Bozola. This artist took her first steps in her craft at a very young age, participating in various contests held in her neighborhood. These contests led to inter-community contests, which then led to artistic and cultural biennales of art and music in Mali. At just 13 years of age, she was voted the best singer and dancer in all of Mali by the then-Minister of Culture, who is today the country’s president.
Continue reading "Everyday Heroes: Fantani Touré (Mali)"

This profile is the seventh in a series commissioned by TrustAfrica's MDG3 Project to showcase the work of inspirational women leaders in Francophone West and Central Africa.

The 1980s in Cameroon were marked by the accession of Paul Biya to Head of State following the resignation of the late President Amadou Ahidjo. This decade was also a very difficult period for those who opposed Cameroon’s single-party political system. Many were repressed, tortured or imprisoned because of their ideas and vision for the country. Henriette Ekwe was among these opponents who through their combat called for the establishment of a multi-party political system in Cameroon. Trained in history and English, she got involved in politics at age 24, changing the career path she had initially envisioned for herself as a translator or a teacher.

Ekwe joined the clandestine opposition party, Union des Populations du Cameroun (UPC), which was based in France, and quickly rose to become a ranking member. She was the first woman sent to Cameroon full-time from the underground party to serve as a liaison between the activists in the country. Her fight led her to live underground for a year. Eventually it landed her in prison, where she was tortured at the hands of the ruling regime.


This multilingual woman is not just a political activist — she is also an excellent journalist. She has been the editor-in-chief of several publications, among them Kameroun Nouveau, Le Front, and Nouvelle Expression. She later founded Bebela, a weekly magazine focusing on political analysis of Cameroon. Ekwe is a founding member of Transparency International–Cameroon. Despite her busy schedule, she has always made time to engage with young people. Her energy and her strength come from her love of her country.
Continue reading "Everyday Heroes: Henriette Ekwe (Cameroon)"

This profile is the sixth in a series commissioned by TrustAfrica's MDG3 Project to showcase the work of inspirational women leaders in Francophone West and Central Africa.

Sexual violence against women is common in countries in conflict. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or DRC, this ignoble act is used as a weapon of war to defile, humiliate and terrorize the local populations. The abuse meted out to women is not just physical. Parity is not respected during electoral nominations, and the number of women represented in decision-making posts and representative bodies is very low. Of the 108 members in the Congolese Senate, only six are women — less than 6 percent.

Eve Bazaiba Masudi is one of these elected few. A consultant in human rights, negotiation, and peace and conflict resolution, she is also president of the Congolese Women’s League for Elections (Ligue des Femmes Congolaises pour les Elections, or LIFCE), an association composed of female politicians mostly representing opposition and centrist political spheres. She is the recipient of the prestigious Prize for Political Engagement and Promotion of Democracy in the DRC. Her strong will, character and firmness of position have earned her the somewhat ironic nickname “Mr. President” from her predominantly male colleagues in the Senate. When asked about gender issues, she prefers to focus on the issue of competence, which she says led her to her current position as Chair of the Senate Socio-Cultural Commission.

After completing her studies in law and diplomacy, Bazaiba was named DRC section head of Women as Partners for Peace (WOPPA), which actively supported the inclusion and participation of women in the Inter-Congolese Dialogue peace talks held in South Africa from 2000 to 2003. During this process she brought together women from different political camps to participate in various human rights programs, and from those meetings they collectively constructed a declaration calling for peace in their country and its social well being.
Continue reading "Everyday Heroes: Eve Bazaiba (DRC)"

This profile is the fifth in a series commissioned by TrustAfrica's MDG3 Project to showcase the work of inspirational women leaders in Francophone West and Central Africa.

Our battle for broader and increased participation of women in the political life of their countries — as well as for the respect of their basic, fundamental rights — brings us to Niger. Here there are frequent incidents of discrimination against women. Moreover, the country has stated its reservations about the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and many women who are victims of abuse are reluctant to register a complaint.

The majority of women in Niger are ignorant of their rights. The Niamey Bar has fewer than 200 lawyers, of whom only 25 percent are women. In this country the law straddles three legal systems: civil code, Islamic law and traditional law. It is within this environment that attorney Barry Bibata Niandou, who was admitted to the Niger Bar in 2000, emerged as a major figure in the fight for women’s rights in Niger.

Niandou was born in Niger on March 2, 1955, in the old quarter of Maourey. A member of the Maouri Djerma ethnic group, she charted a career path marked with many “female firsts.” She is the first woman in Niger to hold the posts of Police Commissioner, Director of the Police Judiciary and Prefect of the Urban Commune of Niamey and has called attention to the disadvantaged in Niger society, namely women and children.
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This profile is the fourth in a series commissioned by TrustAfrica's MDG3 Project to showcase the work of inspirational women leaders in Francophone West and Central Africa.

In Burundi, Christine Ntahe, a retired journalist, has recently been invested in a traditional, conservative, male dominated institution. Hers is the profile of a woman whose career path was not paved with long years of study but who through hard-earned experience has had a remarkable professional career. She has also dedicated herself over the years to providing assistance to disadvantaged children.

Seated, dressed in the traditional white robe, a diadem on her head, Ntahe raises her right hand and takes the oath. Accompanied by a marraine (godmother), standing behind her, a hand on her shoulder, the newly named Notable (mushingantahe in Kirundi) begins to offer advice to each person, without making any distinctions, very detached, at any time of the day or night. “I was the only woman. It was a tremendous joy for me to be invested at the same time as 11 men,” she says enthusiastically as she recalls with fondness the official installation ceremony that took place on September 25, 2010, in the urban commune of Ngagara in Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi.

Forced to end her studies at an early age, following the death of her father, Ntahe started her working life as a teacher at Primaire de Buyenzi primary school in 1967. In 1981 she went to work for the state-owned Radio Télévision Nationale du Burundi (RNTB). Despite the apprehension and opposition from some, she was promoted to Head of Programs. She put her all into her work and as a result it took a toll on her personal life. Her late husband, who was also a journalist, tried to understand and support her. While she might have been underestimated by some people when she first started in television, she went on to convince her peers (and critics) as a result of the quality and competence of her work. She was named broadcast anchor chief from 1987 to 1999.
Continue reading "Everyday Heroes: Christine Ntahe (Burundi)"

This profile is the third in a series commissioned by TrustAfrica's MDG3 Project to showcase the work of inspirational women leaders in Francophone West and Central Africa.

It’s 1983. The first female Chief of Staff of the National Assembly of Burundi is named. This lawyer by training didn’t start out wanting to be a lawyer, but the fight for the promotion and respect of women’s rights compelled her to take this path.

The professional path of this woman, Beatrice Nyamoya, has taken her from the Minister in Charge of Public Relations in 1991, to the Embassy of Burundi in Bonn, Germany, in 1995 and to her current post as State Inspector General. In each of the positions she has held, her attention to a single concern has been ever-present: addressing the concerns and issues related to women and thus never missing an opportunity to speak out publicly, including in the media, about the injustices to which women are subjected.

Born in 1956, Nyamoya has long been an activist fighting for human rights in general and those of women in particular. Her late father, Albin Nyamoya, who twice served as Prime Minister of Burundi, greatly influenced her way of thinking. One of ten children, she received an education that encouraged an esprit of intellectual critique and personal engagement in advocacy for the defense of the rights of women and children.
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This profile is the second in a series commissioned by TrustAfrica's MDG3 Project to showcase the work of inspirational women leaders in Francophone West and Central Africa.

After more than a decade of conflict and instability in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), much emphasis has been placed on the efforts made by the international community to help the country recover. Yet this often has the effect of minimizing the efforts made by national actors. Included among these nationals are the Congolese women who spared no sacrifice. Such is the case of Anne-Marie Makombo Kamwanya.

Born to a father who was a medical doctor and an ardent Lumumbaist, Makombo became involved in politics as a result of her horror at the injustices she witnessed. She is a member of the Alliance pour le Renouveau du Congo (ARC). Now a married mother of three, she has participated in all of the major political combats in the DRC. During the period of liberalization she was one of the first women to join the Parti Démocrate Chrétien, or PDC (Democratic Christian Party).

In July 2006, as Chair of the Commission on Women, Family and Children in the Transitional Parliament, Makombo passionately defended the law calling for the crackdown on sexual violence as promoted by the country’s President.
Continue reading "Everyday Heroes: Anne-Marie Makombo Kamwanya (DRC)"

This profile is the first in a series commissioned by TrustAfrica's MDG3 Project to showcase the work of inspirational women leaders in Francophone West and Central Africa.

In Senegal, as a result of a very strong political class, various civic movements have been successful in shaking up the political landscape. For Amsatou Sow Sidibe, the director of the Institute of Human Rights and Peace, politics and social issues have not gone unnoticed, nor have they left her unconcerned.

In between meetings for the Réseau Africain des Femmes Travailleuses (the African Network for the Promotion of Women Workers, or “RAFET) and the Convergence des Acteurs pour la Défense des Valeurs Républicaines (Convergence of stakeholders for the defense of republican values, or “Car/Lenen”), Sow Sidibe made the decision to contribute to making a change in her native Senegal by getting actively involved in politics. By doing so, the veteran activist for women’s rights is now fighting to promote women’s participation in politics in Senegalese society. Having declared herself a candidate for the country’s 2012 presidential election, she is the first woman to run for president in the country in more than a decade.

Sow Sidibe is a full tenured professor at the University of Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar (UCAD), where she holds the Chair of Private Law. She is also the director of the university’s Institute for Human Rights and Peace. After earning her undergraduate and master’s degree in political science and law at the Department of Law and Economics at UCAD, she left Senegal to continue studies in France at the University of Paris II Panthéon, where she received her D.E.A. (Diplôme des Etudes Approfondies) and then continued with her doctoral studies. In 1987 she successfully defended her thesis and received her Ph.D. in law and political science. Her doctoral thesis, under the direction of Professor Jacques Foyer, addressed the topic of legal pluralism in Africa; it received the university’s prize for best thesis that year and was published by Librairie Générale de Droit et de Jurisprudence in 1991. In 1993 she was awarded the “aggregation” in Private Law. In 2003 she was tenured at UCAD and certified by CAMES (the African and Malagasy Council of Higher Education) to the rank of Full Professor and Chair of Private Law.
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In connection with our MDG3 Project, which seeks to curb gender violence and expand women's political participation, we are reposting this statement by UNDP. The original post can be found here.

Twenty-eight African Ministers in charge of Gender Affairs and more than 600 other high level participants from 43 African countries participated in a Regional Review of “Beijing + 15” from November 16th through the 20th in Banjul, the Gambia.

The purpose of the conference was to gather decision-makers, NGO’s, Women and Youth organizations, among other stakeholders, to look at progress made in Africa since the Beijing Summit on women 15 years ago, and to address challenges for the implementation of the 12 critical areas of the Beijing Platform for Africa. The government of The Gambia hosted the conference and was supported by the UN System in the Gambia, with UNDP as the lead agency.

The UNDP Country Office Gambia received both financial and technical support from RBA and BDP for that assistance, which was provided by UNDP in various areas such as the recruitment of a team of consultants comprising of a Gender Expert, two Communication Specialists and a Website Developer. The teams assisted the Government’s Women’s Bureau in producing the Beijing National report for The Gambia, the AU Solemn Declaration Report, and the NGO Beijing Scheduled Report for The Gambia. A highly informational website, http://www.beijingplus15.gm, was also developed for the conference.

Diverse communication materials, including a PSA in four languages and a documentary showcasing best practices in the Gambia on the Beijing Platform for Action 12 critical areas were produced by the communication team, which worked hand in hand with colleagues from the UNECA.

The Vice President of the Republic of the Gambia in her statement on behalf of the President of the Republic of the Gambia thanked the UNDP Country Office in the Gambia for providing significant preparatory assistance. According to Dr Aisatu Njie Saidy, “the meeting in Banjul is of special significance in that it creates a forum to review progress so far realised, revisit the strategies and possibly come up with the necessary adjustment to enable collectively deal with the many pressing challenging gender issues in Africa”. She further said that the contribution of African women to the continent development is clearly evident as African women are well known for their brilliance, creativity, hard work, commitment and unwavering determination to shape their own destiny.

Ms Chinwe Dike, the Resident Coordinator of the UN System in the Gambia and UNDP Resident Representative stated that “it is indeed time to call on all actors and stakeholders engaged in promoting gender equality, and especially on governments to account for their stewardship. This call includes the United Nations which after the 2009 GA meeting has also recognised the need to revamp its gender architecture to achieve greater effectiveness in the promotion of gender equality.”

Regional Bureau for Africa deputy director Elizabeth Fong went further to explain that UNDP has adopted a two-fold approach to gender mainstreaming. She said: “Firstly, we support the empowerment of women to expand their capability opportunities, and choices, as well as to claim their rights and move into full substantive equality with men. Secondly, we are supporting the capacity development of governments to respond positively to women’s interest and concerns”.

Ms Fong pledged that UNDP will work to support initiatives that empower women to claim their internationally agreed rights in every development sphere, and support government to be both pro-active and responsive in advancing the realization of these rights.

She confirmed that the gender equality strategy of UNDP is the tool used for the integration of gender into our core development work.

In implementing the UNDP gender strategy, UNDP in the Gambia has supported the government in building the capacity of women to fully participate in the electoral processes.

In her statement at the opening of the conference, Mrs Fatou Jassey-Kuyateh, Permanent Secretary of the Vice President, reiterated her government’s commitment to place women in decision-making positions as evidenced by the number of top offices occupied by women such as the Vice President, the Speaker of the national assembly, three ministers, one deputy minister and three other national assembly members.

The Beijing+15 conference in the Gambia concluded with strong feedback and input from participants and ministers from the countries represented. Once again, African governments’ delegates confirmed their commitment to mainstream gender in their policy and address challenges based on the recommendations of the meeting. Some of these focus on the economic empowerment of women by creating employment opportunities through targeted entrepreneurship and skills, as well asbusiness development paying particular attention to rural women. They also call for countries to put in place measures aimed at accelerating agricultural production through advanced technologies. The Beijing+15 eighth Africa Regional Review Conference has indeed been a major landmark on African women’s journey from “Commitment to Action” .


See also: Statement by UNDP Africa Deputy on Beijing+15
Conference website: http://www.beijingplus15.gm/

Contact Information:
UNDP Communications Officer in The Gambia
Sainabou Jallow-Gaye: sainabou.gaye@undp.org