Because We are Women: Showing Solidarity on International Women’s Day with UN Women

Article and photographs by Shona Macleod, Communications Assistant, Tostan International.

View more photos from the event in our Flickr photostream!

In the dusty terrain of Guédiawaye, on the outskirts of Dakar, Senegal, hundreds of women and men gathered to mark International Women’s Day on March 8. The atmosphere of the event, organized by UN Women, was one of celebration with musicians, singers, and dancers. I had the honor of participating in the event with other Tostan team members.

A banner signed by local women calls for an end to domestic violence.

The theme of the day was ‘A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women’. Some of the women attending the event carried posters calling for an end to gender-based violence and many others were draped in UN Women banners. While waiting for the speeches to begin, I asked some of them why they had wanted to take part.

Marème Sow had come with a delegation from an organization called COFLEC (le Collectif des femmes contre l’émigration clandestine or ‘Women’s Collective Against Illegal Migration’). Marème represents immigrants in Spain. For many of these women, she told me, gender-based violence is an everyday reality. Later, the president of COFLEC spoke to the audience about how the effects of this violence are not just physical but psychological as well. She shared how women unfortunately receive little support to help them move on with their lives after experiencing gender-based violence.

Khady Ba, President of the Guédiawaye Association of Disabled Women.

Khady Ba, the president of the Guédiawaye Association of Disabled Women, came to show her conviction that women living with disabilities have both the same rights and the same challenges as able-bodied women. She said they must work to overcome the challenges they have in common with all women as well as the challenges caused by their disabilities.

Although many of the women attending the event had come in groups as members of organizations, some had come individually. One local woman named Maymana came to show her solidarity for ending gender-based violence because she sees its negative effect every day in her neighborhood.

A large number of excited school girls were also in attendance. One group enthusiastically announced that they think every day should be women’s day, before continuing to chant the day’s theme in French: il est temps de mettre fin à la violence à l’égard des femmes.

A group of schoolgirls excited to be included in the celebrations.

The speeches from government officials as well as prominent members of civil society reinforced the day’s theme. The speakers focused on the fact that gender-based violence continues to be an issue in Senegal despite recent advances in the law. It can happen at home, at work, or in the street. It is not, of course, a problem unique to Senegal, but one that is seen in every country of the world and affects women of every color, of every age, and in every social class.

Despite the differences between the women and girls I spoke to at the event, they all shared one common sentiment: they had come to the event because they recognized that the problems faced by women are universal. They had come, they told me, simply because they are women.

Portrait of a Leader: Yama Bathia

A few years ago, Yama Bathia experienced gender-based violence in her own home.  Since that day, she has worked hard to create a safe space for problem solving in her community of Bougnadou Manjaque and to challenge harmful social norms, such as female genital cutting (FGC). On a recent visit to Bougnadou Manjaque in the Sédhiou region of Senegal, Tostan Social Mobilization Agents (SMAs) spoke to Yama personally about her experience with violence and how that has shaped her perspective of FGC. Yama agreed to share her story in hopes of raising awareness about gender-based violence and educating others on the harmful consequences of FGC.

Yama: One day during winter, after the rains came, I was cultivating rice in a field five kilometers from our village. I left my infant daughter with my husband while I worked in the fields. There was so much work that day - the work was hard - and I had to walk all the way back. So I arrived home late, around 7:00 pm. My daughter was crying because she was hungry and had not eaten since before I left. I went outside to wash before feeding my daughter when my husband found me, and he was very angry. He hit me several times but my family heard and was able to intervene and stop him.

A few hours later I was still very upset, but asked my family to help organize a meeting between my husband and me. I first spoke to my husband, and he explained that he was angry at me for leaving our daughter without anyone to breastfeed her. I told my husband I was sorry, but that in the future we should discuss our problems respectfully. If we can’t resolve them, we should ask for help from someone in the village but violence can never be a solution. 

SMA: What happened after this incident occurred? Has there been any violence in your community since then? 

Yama: After this my husband apologized, and it has never happened again. We talked about violence, especially against women and girls, in a large community meeting. We all agreed that violence is never acceptable and that we would try to make a space where people can go to discuss and resolve their problems. Sometimes they talk to their family, an imam, or the local village council, and sometimes we talk together as a community. I don’t think any other women have experienced violence since then. Our village is small so everyone knew what happened to me, and I think it changed the way people address conflict. It made people realize that violence is never a good solution and that violence against women is something we cannot accept.

A Tostan meeting in Yama's village of Bougnadou Manjaque.

SMA: How does this relate to FGC? Do you see that practice as a type of violence? 

Yama: Yes. After the incident with my husband we talked more about violence in our community, and I thought a lot about violence against women. I realized that FGC is a type of violence, especially against girls. They do not consent to undergo this practice, and they have no choice in being cut. I know this practice is very old, it is not a part of Islam, and we see now that it causes serious health consequences. We had some health problems in our village with girls who were cut before, but we ignored them for a long time. Since our community has started talking about violence, especially violence against women, it has been easier to discuss FGC. Also, as we participate in Tostan classes, we’ve really started to understand how FGC is a violation of human rights and how it blocks our development. Our village has decided to abandon the practice completely, and I hope that other villages will follow. 

SMA: What would you say to others who practice FGC? 

Yama: I would tell them that this practice causes a lot of problems for women and girls, some very serious and sometimes even deadly. I would tell them that FGC is a form of violence against women and girls and that it violates our human rights. I would tell them that we must stop this practice together so we can improve our health, develop our community, and live more in peace.

Photographs by Angela Rowe, Tostan.

 

NEW PHOTOS: Public Declaration in Fafacourou, Senegal

On Sunday February 24, 2013, 128 communities publicly declared their abandonment of female genital cutting (FGC) and child/forced marriage in the village of Fafacourou in the Kolda region of southern Senegal. 

Learn more about the declaration and check out the photographs taken by Tostan Volunteers, Meagan Byrne and Allyson Fritz!

Local children put on a skit, organized by Tostan Supervisor Oumar Pam, discussing the problems associated with FGC and child/forced marriage. Photograph by Meagan Byrne, Tostan.

Audience members from the declaring villages watch as local children perform a skit about the dangers of FGC and child/forced marriage. Photograph by Allyson Fritz, Tostan.

While the declaration text was being read in three languages, French, Soninke, and Pulaar, representatives from each of the 128 declaring villages stood in a group, holding up signs with their village names. Photograph by Meagan Byrne, Tostan.

Aissatou Diallo, a student from the village of Fafacourou, reads the declaration text. Photograph by Meagan Byrne, Tostan.

Mouhamadou Gano, journalist for Agence France Presse, acts as master of ceremonies for the declaration, introducing speakers and cultural acts. Photograph by Allyson Fritz, Tostan.

View more photos from the Fafacourou declaration in our Flickr photostream!

Filming in the Field: Lamin Fatty Shares His Experience at the ‘Stories of Change’ Participatory Filmmaking Workshop

This post is from Lamin Fatty, Tostan Supervisor in The Gambia. Lamin recently participated in a two-week participatory filmmaking workshop made possible with the collaboration and support of Venice Arts, the Sundance Institute, the Skoll Foundation, and the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida). Tostan organized the workshop as part of larger project to increase participant-led storytelling after receiving the 'Stories of Change' grant. To learn more about the workshop, visit our website. 

Photographs by Alisa Hamilton, Tostan.

Lamin Fatty and fellow workshop participant, Khardiata Bodian, practice using the cameras at Tostan’s training institute in Thiès, Senegal.

I recently took part in the participatory filmmaking workshop organized by Tostan in Thiès and Kolda, Senegal. The training consisted of both theoretical and practical elements and lasted for two weeks. 
 

The theoretical aspects gave me and the other eight participants an introduction to documentary filmmaking, an overview of the evolution of filmmaking and cinema, and insight into the fundamental concepts of visual storytelling with emphasis on light, sound, composition, and story. We learned how to use a Flip video camera and basic editing techniques, completed homework assignments, and took part in group critiques. I really enjoyed working with the trainers from Venice Arts because of the participatory nature of their presentations coupled with their cooperativeness, understanding, and friendliness throughout the training.

Venice Arts trainer, Brigid McCaffrey, demonstrates how to use the tripod.

For the practical part of the workshop, we traveled to the region of Kolda in southern Senegal and divided into three groups to produce three films for Tostan’s Peace and Security Project. For this portion of the workshop we learned how to use higher quality video cameras and sound equipment.

My group made a film in the village of Karcia, 30 kilometers away from Kolda, about conflict resolution and inter-ethnic marriage. The film tells the story of a man, Oumar, and a woman, Aissata, who come from different ethnic groups; they fall in love and wish to marry despite resistance from their families. A marriage between two different ethnic groups was regarded as impossible even ten years ago and is still a source of conflict between families and communities. The film we made provides an example of how this kind of traditional conflict can be overcome with open minds and communication.
 

The filming process involved several stages. We started by meeting with the village chief and local imam to inform them of our activities and make sure they were in agreement. Over the course of five days, we gathered images of the village and conducted several interviews. We interviewed the coordinator of the Community Management Committee (CMC), a mother and a daughter, the couple, and Aissata’s grandfather. My favorite interview was with Aissata’s grandfather because he was very comical and reminded me of a typical village elder.

Lamy Fatty films family members at the home of the CMC Coordinator in Karcia, Senegal.

The most challenging aspect of filming in Karcia was the initial resistance and even refusal of some community members to be filmed. Once we explained that the goal of the film was to tell the story of Karcia as a positive example of conflict resolution, most people were willing. We also had difficulty quieting the curious village children!  

My favorite moment of the workshop was on the final day of shooting when we were filming the re-enactment of Oumar and Aissata meeting for the first time at the river. It was a beautiful scene and symbolic to have the two ethnic groups coming together at such a natural source of sustainable livelihood. 

Workshop participant, Khardiata Bodian, records sound at the river in Karcia on the final day of shooting.

The workshop was very important because it has given me, along with others from Tostan, a great opportunity to learn for the first time about the fundamental concepts of visual storytelling and to acquire new knowledge, skills, and techniques using the Flip video cameras. 
 

With my new knowledge and filmmaking skills, I will be able to contribute towards developing stories that can be shared in the countries where Tostan works and internationally. I will also be able to share what I have learned with the Tostan Gambia staff as a contribution to Tostan’s commitment to spread knowledge. I believe that building the capacities of Tostan’s local staff in skills such as filmmaking is essential in achieving Tostan’s mission of promoting sustainable development and empowering African communities.

Stay tuned for the final films on Tostan's YouTube channel! 


 

Voices of Tostan: Farba M'Bow

Farba M’bow spent his childhood in Senegal and moved to the United States. His mother, once a participant in Tostan’s Community Empowerment Program (CEP) herself, encouraged Farba to look into jobs within international development. Farba rediscovered Tostan in Washington, DC where he interned as Communications Assistant from September to December 2012. Here, he gives a personal account of his journey and how his experience with Tostan has impacted his life. 

Story by Farba M’Bow, former Tostan Communications Assistant in Washington, DC

Farba and his mother, a former Tostan participant 

When I finished college, I came back home full of ambitions but not truly knowing exactly what the near future had in store for me. I began a manufacturing job still trying to figure out what to do next. Several months later, I joined AmeriCorps where I provided academic support to at-risk youth at a local high school. The experience was great, and I found myself easily interacting with the students, but I still wasn’t sure if I wanted to pursue a career in education. Then one day my mother suggested that I look into international nonprofit organizations after my time with AmeriCorps. I have yet to understand the reason she mentioned this, but it was exactly what I was planning on doing.

A few months later, out of the blue, my mom asked if I could find her the types of reading manuals that she used to study with in Pulaar back in Senegal and suggested that I search for them on the Internet. Well, I knew that the books she read came from an organization called Tostan and I started my search.

I was immediately drawn to Tostan’s website; seeing the incredible work that Tostan was doing in at least eight African countries was so amazing and very appealing. Then later, I discovered that ‘tostan’ was a Wolof word that meant “breakthrough”. Well, I knew what breakthrough meant in English, but I did not recall using ‘tostan’ in any of my Wolof conservations back in Senegal. I asked my mom, who actually speaks better Wolof than Pulaar, but she didn’t know either. I guessed that it had probably been replaced by a French word during the process of colonization. I went ahead and continued searching.

I forgot all about the reading manuals I was asked to look for and started a search of my own. I felt the urgent need to delve deeper into Tostan. I watched every video that I could find and read every article about Tostan. Then one day, I came across a video of Molly Melching explaining the word ‘Tostan’! I listened thoroughly to the point where she explained the meaning of the word as “the hatching of an egg”. Then it hit me! I picked up the phone and explained it to my mother and she went on to say, “Oh yeah, now I remember what that means.”

The analogy of Tostan as “the hatching of an egg” made perfect sense to me. Putting this into context, I knew from personal experience that many women and children hide their opinions because of social and cultural norms and expectations. I was automatically reminded of the example of a girl who gets married at the age of 14 and is forced to live in a confined village of only a couple of hundred people with all the societal and cultural components that come along with this situation. The only way that person can overcome her difficulties and rise above social expectations or ‘hatch out of the egg’ is through education.

My mother hatched out of her own egg in 2000 when she decided to participate in Tostan classes. She had never attended school before. In the Tostan classroom, they started with very basic skills. She went from putting syllables together to reading themes that we could all relate to at home. My four brothers and I were all eager to help. By doing so, we were also able to read in Pulaar, which is something that the school system in Senegal did not teach students. I particularly remember very entertaining and pedagogical animal stories, such as “The Dog and Monkey Wrestling” and another that talked about health and hygiene and ended with the phrase, “When mom and dad are unclean, there is no way they can raise a clean baby.” As children, we found this very funny but also understood it was true.

One thing we did not fully comprehend, however, was just how important the impact that Tostan’s nonformal education program was going to have on our mother. She put everything she learned into practice. She even went on to expand her business by buying dyed cloth from Mali and selling it back to other businesses. A few years after her experience with Tostan, she came up with the incredible idea for us to apply for visas to the United States. As children, we just needed to attend the interviews and within six months, we packed up all our belongings and got on to the plane to the US!

Years later, inspired by my mother’s story, I kept researching Tostan until I found the volunteer and internship opportunities. With a background in political science and women’s studies, everything that Tostan worked on interested me. I was convinced that this was the type of organization in which I could apply what I studied to the real world. On my last day of service with AmeriCorps, I interviewed for the Communications Assistant position with Tostan and received my acceptance within the same week! 

On my first day of orientation, I showed up at the office, rang the bell, adjusted my tie, and patiently waited.  Tostan was everything I expected it to be! The décor on the walls made me think that I was in an actual African community. The pictures of happy looking faces of Tostan participants from African villages automatically reminded me of Tostan’s vision, “Human dignity for all.” I remember thinking that this was the perfect place for me to intern. Everyone at the office was very welcoming. The diversity at Tostan was amazing. From the staff to the interns, everyone spoke another language other than English or had lived in a developing country. I could easily engage in conversation with someone in French, Wolof or Pulaar, and my personal story and that of my mother was well understood.

Working in the Communications Department at Tostan was very rewarding. Every week, we would go over all the activities that Tostan was planning: events, media coverage, and voyages to reach out to the furthest African communities. Tostan’s presence in Senegalese villages that I didn’t even knew existed was proof that community-led development and organized diffusion work. I was stunned to see all the behind-the-scenes activities and the effort, dedication, and cohesiveness the staff contributed so that projects would be completed on time. I was also pleased to discover Tostan’s strategic approaches in terms of changing social norms without harming tradition. Abandoning female genital cutting (FGC); promoting children’s and human rights; establishing social justice; keeping girls, boys, men, and women in school; and reducing domestic violence against women and children in numerous African villages were just some of the momentous results I witnessed while at Tostan. 

I finished my internship very humbled to see all that it takes for an organization like Tostan to educate someone like my mother and thousands more women, men, and children. Leaving Tostan’s office with an invaluable knowledge in nonprofit management will significantly impact my professional career. Hatching from a shell of my own, I will bring with me all that I have learned at Tostan on to my future endeavors.

Community Management Committee Encourages Income Generating Activities through Fabric Dyeing Session

Story by Angie Rowe, Tostan Volunteer in Kolda, Senegal 

Our year-end fundraising campaign concludes today. Throughout this campaign, we have been highlighting different stories from Community Management Committees (CMCs) - democratically selected groups in each community trained in project development and management. CMCs plan and carry out local initiatives and truly lead the way in community development, providing inspiration as we head into the year 2013. Support their efforts by donating today and have your gift matched by The Greenbaum Foundation! 

Sikilo, a small community in the Kolda region of Senegal, completed Tostan's Community Empowerment Program (CEP) in June of 2012. The CMC remains active, engaging in activities such as trainings on soap making and fabric dyeing, community wide clean-ups, and community fund distribution. 

CMC members in Sikilo were trained in fabric dyeing to generate income for their community

In August, the CMC organized a fabric dyeing training, which was attended by all 17 members. During the training session participants learned how to mix dye, practiced fabric dyeing techniques, and discussed effective sale strategies. The fabric subsequently produced is sold in various markets throughout Kolda, providing necessary funds to support further development activities led by the CMC. 

Portrait of a Leader: Coumba Samba Camara

Story and photograph by Anna Vanderkooy, Tostan Projects Assistant, Senegal

The community of Vélingara is located in the district of Ranérou in one of the most conservative regions of Senegal. In January 2012, Vélingara began Tostan’s Community Empowerment Program (CEP) thanks to one woman, Coumba Samba Camara, who mobilized her community to participate in the program.

As part of Tostan’s community-led outreach approach called ‘organized diffusion,’ it broadcasts radio programs on themes covered during the CEP such as democracy, hygiene and health, problem solving, and project management. These radio broadcasts, which are hosted by Tostan facilitators and participants, allow messages that are key to inspiring community-led development to spread to villages that are not directly participating in the program.

Coumba first learned about Tostan through these radio broadcasts. She was so interested in what she heard that she made sure to be around a radio every time a show was scheduled. As was the case with Coumba’s village of Vélingara, communities that learn about Tostan through the radio often choose to invite the program to their own villages. 

Serving as a member of the Vélingara’s Rural Council, president of the local women’s group, and treasurer of the women’s dairy collective, well-respected Coumba was able to convince her peers of the benefits of participating in the Tostan program. When she learned that Tostan was working in her area, she arranged to meet local Tostan staff to get more information and encourage them to hold an information session in Vélingara. 

Through this process of bringing the CEP to her village, she also became involved in Tostan’s awareness-raising and social mobilization initiatives. She began to accompany their local team on trips to many nearby villages in order to share accurate information about harmful social norms such as female genital cutting (FGC) and child/forced marriage.

Since January 2012, when her village began CEP classes, Coumba shares that communication and decision-making in Vélingara has already improved. Regular village-wide meetings are now held, and community members are demonstrating their commitment to community-led development through village clean-ups, increased number of health visits, better collaboration with local authorities, increased community solidarity, and a new freedom of expression for women and adolescents.

Coumba is now a member of Vélingara’s recently formed Community Management Committee (CMC), and she works with her community to identify cases of human rights violations and take action to ensure that the human rights of every community member are respected. Coumba is a dynamic and active leader in her community, eagerly learning and sharing the new skills and knowledge from CEP classes. With this energy, she will continue to empower her own community of Vélingara and beyond.

Spotlight on Girls: The Marietou Law

Through our work we have learned that as communities become empowered through human rights-based education, their ability to empower girls amplifies. In celebration of the first ever International Day of the Girl—11 October 2012—we are sharing the inspiring stories of five girls as they pursue their goals and build an empowered future for themselves and their communities in our blog series, Spotlight on Girls. 

Now let’s turn the spotlight on Marietou from Thiès, Senegal. 

Story by Penda Mbaye, Tostan Program Officer in Dakar, Senegal

In 2002, I was a facilitator of Tostan’s human rights-based education program, the Community Empowerment Program (CEP), in the small district of Hersent in Thiès, Senegal. There, I saw a 15-year-old CEP participant named Marietou positively change the perception of domestic violence in her entire community. 

At the age of four, Marietou’s father passed away, and she was forced to live with her stepfather who physically abused her mother every night. This abuse deeply affected her, but she felt she was not able to do anything about it but cry; she couldn’t intervene.

Years later, Marietou became a participant in Tostan’s Community Empowerment Program (CEP). After learning in class discussions about the importance of respecting and protecting the human rights of all people, she decided she had to do something to help her mother.  She could not take seeing her suffer any longer. She decided to talk to the district chief about it, but was disappointed by his reaction when he told her that children should not get involved with their parents’ business.

She thought then she must get more people’s attention in order to stop domestic violence in her community; she knew right away that she had to do something extraordinary that no one had ever done or seen before.
Empowered by her knowledge of human rights, Marietou headed to the community mosque all by herself so that she could bring up the issue of domestic violence to the imam and other important people in her community.

After the midday prayer, just about when people were ready to leave the mosque, Marietou politely said, “Can I please have your attention for just a second?”

All eyes turned to her; people were surprised that she, a young girl, had come to the mosque to talk to them. Everyone waited curiously to know what she had to say.

She asked the imam, “Did you know some of the people in this very mosque abuse their wives every single day? I’m curious to know: does Islam allow you to abuse your wife like some people I know (directly referring to her stepfather)? Did you know that all people have the right to be protected from domestic violence? Please, dear imam, do something to stop domestic violence in this neighborhood. If you don’t do anything and my stepfather keeps beating my mother, I will have to call the police on him and all the other men who do the same thing because I know who you are.”

At first everyone in the mosque started to laugh, but then all eyes shifted to her stepfather. 

The imam gave everyone permission to leave the mosque except for Marietou and her stepfather. He sternly told him that Islam does not condone domestic violence. After sometime Marietou’s stepfather started to cry and vowed to never put his hands on Marietou’s mother again.

During the next two Friday prayers, the imam decided to center his teachings on domestic violence and how that it is not supported by Islam. Community members also became involved by organizing a forum on domestic violence. At that point, all important members of the district decided to join the cause to abandon domestic violence. A collective decision was put in place to denounce anyone in the neighborhood who did not comply with the rest of the community in abandoning domestic violence. 

To enforce this collective decision, a law was implemented; they called it the Marietou Law. Marietou was also elected the coordinator of a new community watch committee to protect women and adolescent girls against domestic violence. She shared how glad she was that the imam and entire community became involved in helping to stop domestic violence. 

Strengthened by the knowledge she gained through participation in the CEP and her own personal courage, Marietou emerged as a true champion of human rights. Now she does not need to worry about her mother or other women being abused in her community.

Show your support for girls by sharing Marietou's story with your friends and family! Looking for more? Read other Spotlight on Girls posts here.

Spotlight on Girls: Aissata Ba

Through our work we have learned that as communities become empowered through human rights-based education, their ability to empower girls amplifies. In celebration of the first ever International Day of the Girl—11 October 2012—we are sharing the inspiring stories of five girls as they pursue their goals and build an empowered future for themselves and their communities in our blog series, Spotlight on Girls. 

Now let’s turn the spotlight on Aissata Ba from Kolma Peuhl, Senegal.

Interview and photos by Anna Vanderkooy, Tostan Projects Assistant, Senegal

Aissata Ba

A few weeks ago I traveled to the village of Kolma Peulh in the Kaolack region of Senegal to meet with Tostan’s Community Empowerment Program (CEP) facilitator and interview local community members.  The community of Kolma Peuhl began to participate in Tostan’s three year Community Empowerment Program in 2008.

During my visit, community members were eager to share how community learning has influenced Kolma Peulh. They highlighted examples such as: the active involvement of women and adolescents in decision making;increased priority on child health and the creation of a health closet; the abandonment of child/forced marriage; and a new commitment to schooling for girls and boys. With women and men of all ages ready to talk about Tostan’s work in Kolma Peulh, we stayed up late into the night, sharing stories and songs as I scribbled down notes by candlelight.

One of the highlights of my stay was a conversation with a young girl, Aissata Ba. When I asked her if she would like to talk to me about herself and her life in Kolma Peulh, she smiled unassumingly and nodded, and the conversation (translated from Pulaar to French) began. 

Aissata reading Tostan's children's books

Anna: (after introducing myself) A lot of people in Senegal and around the world are interested in what is happening in Kolma Peulh. Could you introduce yourself to them?

Aissata: My name is Aissata Ba, from Kolma Peulh. I am six years old. My mother is Aminata Ba – you spoke to her yesterday.

Anna: Oh yes. I think she said that you will be going to school next year for the first time, right? Are you excited?

Aissata: I’m signed up to start in a few months and I can’t wait! My mother and a lot of her friends learned how to read [in Pulaar during Tostan classes], so they have already been teaching me to read the Tostan picture books. My favorite one is about an antelope who works very hard to cook dinner. But I’ve read all of them now and the older children say that there are lots of new things to read at the school. There will be so much to learn there and I already have a bit of a head start.

Anna: Is there a subject that you’re most excited to learn about?

Aissata: I don’t know how to add numbers or write words, so I’m excited to do that. Actually, I want to stay in school for as long as I can so that I can learn about everything. I’m going to be a teacher, or maybe a nurse, when I grow up, so I need to study all the school subjects.

Anna: Have you heard about or noticed any things that have recently changed for girls growing up in Kolma Peulh?

Aissata: There are more girls who go to school now, and my village has decided that girls can stay in school for as long as they want. My parents have told me the same thing and I always listen to them. They said that they will make sure that I don’t get married [before I finish high school]. I can decide when I want to get married. I want to stay in school for a long time, because you need to learn a lot of things before you become a teacher. I want to be like my mother because she is now in charge of lots of decisions in Kolma Peulh. In my village now, people say that girls can do as much as boys, so I would like to show them that I can do a lot of things and can be a very good student.

Anna: I’m sure you’ll do a great job in school. Is there anything else you’d like to talk about? Do you have any questions for me?

Aissata: I liked the questions that you asked. I was wondering what you want to be when you grow up. I think you should be a writer because you write down lots of things very quickly. You could write new books for children like me who are going to school and I could read them.

Anna: That sounds like a great idea! 
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Show your support for girls by sharing Aissata’s story with your friends and family! Looking for more? Read other Spotlight on Girls posts here.

MDG3 in Action: Community Management Committees

In support of the Global Festival, we will post a story each week during the month of September featuring Tostan's commitment to Millennium Development Goal 3 (MDG3), 'Promoting Gender Equality and Empowering Women' in the series MDG3 in Action.

Join us in the movement to end extreme poverty by becoming a Global Citizen. Watch, view, and share stories on the Global Citizen website to earn tickets to the Global Festival!

Community Management Committees: Encouraging Gender Equality and the Emergence of Women Leaders 

Story by Anna Vanderkooy, Projects Assistant, Tostan Senegal

Khady Sow (right) and fellow Health Commission member,
Binta Diallo (left).

Khady Sow lives in the community of Kolma Peulh in western Senegal. Kolma Peulh participated in Tostan’s holistic Community Empowerment Program (CEP) from 2008 to 2011. Khady became a member of the CommunityManagement Committee (CMC) shortly after the start of the CEP.

In every community where Tostan implements the CEP, a CMC is formed to coordinate activities in and out of the Tostan classroom. Composed of five commissions (health, environment, child protection, education, and income-generating activities), the CMC is a 17-member democratically-selected group that organizes awareness-raising events and leads development projects designed by the community. A minimum of nine of the members are women.

CMCs provide a structure, which often does not previously exist, from which woman can emerge as leaders and spearhead development initiatives in their communities. CMC members engage peers who are not part of the CMC, and women’s participation in community decision-making processes and development projects greatly increase as a result of the CMC.

Khady’s role as the CMC Health Commission Coordinator has provided her with an effective platform to lead health initiatives in Kolma Peulh.  A community health agent before the arrival of the Tostan program, Khady eagerly welcomed the creation of the CMC as a way for her to address persistent health risks in the community and garner support for new health initiatives. The Health Commission has used knowledge gained in the CEP’s health sessions to conduct awareness-raising activities related to child/forced marriage, malaria, diarrhea, family planning, medical visits, vaccinations, and latrine use.

In the case of malaria, Khady contacted the nurse from the health post several kilometers away, and now has all the necessary materials and know-how to conduct in-village malaria tests in Kolma Peulh. Thanks to the literacy component of the CEP, Khady now keeps written documentation of test results, filling out forms in her native language of Pulaar. To treat some of the most common illnesses in the community, she also organized the creation of a health closet, which ensures access to basic medication within Kolma Peulh. 

The Health Commission has reached out to neighboring villages where Khady and her fellow Health Commission members now lead vaccination campaigns and coordinate with other local leaders to organize a variety of health, human rights, and education-related activities. For Khady, the next step for improving health in Kolma Peulh is to construct a simple health center in the village, making healthcare even more accessible to community members.

Through participation in the CEP, both men and women in communities like Kolma Peulh learn the importance of respecting human rights and welcoming female leadership to help reach community goals. Tostan’s non-formal education program empowers existing female leaders and facilitates the emergence of new ones by providing women with the knowledge and structures to lead initiatives in their communities.

Honoring Maimouna Traoré, a brave pioneer of the movement for the abandonment of FGC in Senegal

by Molly Melching, Tostan Founder and Executive Director

Maimouna Traoré and Molly Melching at the tenth anniversary
of the Malicounda Bambara declaration.

We were very saddened today to learn of the death of Maimouna Traoré, Coordinator of the Community Management Committee (CMC) and Chair of the Advisory Committee of Women of Malicounda Bambara, a village in western Senegal.  

Maimouna was one of the first pioneers of the female genital cutting (FGC) abandonment movement that is sweeping through West Africa.  She led the group of courageous women who on July 31, 1997 stood before 20 journalists, government and NGO officials and declared before the world the decision of their village to abandon FGC, a tradition which had been practiced for centuries in their community.

Their decision was not only courageous, but ignited national dialogue on the subject. There was much initial criticism around the abandonment and Maimouna and the women of Malicounda Bambara often had to vigorously defend their decision, which they did using their knowledge of human rights and by encouraging dialogue around how the practice hindered African development. 

Following the Malicounda Bambara declaration and another declaration by Nguerigne Bambara in November 1997, the then-President of Senegal, Abdou Diouf announced his support for the declarations and FGC abandonment in a speech to the 33rd Congress of the International Federation of Human Rights held in Dakar on November 20, 1997. 

Now, 15 years later, over 5,000 communities in Senegal have abandoned FGC, and the Tostan approach has been incorporated in Senegal’s National Action Plan for FGC Abandonment 2010-2015. 

None of this would have been possible without Maimouna Traoré.  

Maimouna’s impact on the lives of girls and women across Senegal and her belief that education is the key to positive social change cannot be overstated.  Despite many hardships and criticism following that first announcement by herself and the "evolutionary" women of Malicounda Bambara, her commitment never wavered.   

As Maimouna affirmed:  "Today we are more in harmony with our traditions and culture. We are Bambara more than ever. We strengthened our positive traditions and abandoned those that are harmful to our well-being. We changed because we are now more responsible and caring and proud of what unites us. "

The courage and determination of Maimouna Traoré will continue to inspire millions of women across Senegal, Africa, and the world.   

Maimouna, we valued your spirit, knowledge, friendship; you will leave behind a legacy that will pass through the generations. You will be greatly missed.