The rise of feminism in West Africa

Lori and I were invited to attend and bring two local women to the 1st Meeting to Promote Women Entrepreneurs in West Africa. We arrived on the first day to find that this was a much bigger deal than we had anticipated. There were national authorities from West Africa and Europe. Sitting in a room, which I can only describe as my imagination of a press conference, I felt very out of place. There were photographers and cameras everywhere. Headsets and microphones were at every seat for interpretations between English and French. Many of the sessions touched on gender and equity & equal opportunities in order to ensure development in West Africa. At times I found myself thinking as a feminist. The women there were very empowered and strong; they want to be educated and successful. In order for W. Africa to grow and become economically stimulated there must be equal opportunities for men & women. Women play the biggest part for their own growth. They must first start in their own home & family. But in Africa the whole community raises a child so that means the entire village must be supportive and not oppressive as young children are growing. Many times girls are put into the role of cooking and house work and are denied the privilege of education and growth. Even the husband of one of the women we took to the conference was upset because his wife was not home to cook for him for 2 days. We joked with some of the men in the village that in America men cook and clean too, but they are not open to the idea of doing ‘women’s work’- it’s just not done here. This is where the feminist feelings start to rise in me. I find that I’ve taken it for granted being born & raised in America where I’m free to be who I want to be and do what I want without fighting years of cultural oppression and ways of thinking. So where America went through the feminist movement half a century ago it is now alive and growing in West Africa.

And here are the photos from the "press" (if you can call them that)