Lagos,Nigeria
Tuesday, December 3rd, 2024

Search
Search
Close this search box.

Women take leading roles as Ivory Coast emerges from turmoil

No comment
Tuesday, March 8th, 2016
No comment

Women have long played a dominant role in agriculture in Ivory Coast and in the sprawling markets where most Ivorians purchase their daily necessities.

Marie Dem (C), 48, a businesswomam, her mother Fatma Kamil, 79 (L), and her daughter Khadydiatou Dem, 26, pose for a photograph after prayers in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, February 14, 2016. REUTERS/Thierry Gouegnon
Marie Dem (C), 48, a businesswomam, her mother Fatma Kamil, 79 (L), and her daughter Khadydiatou Dem, 26, pose for a photograph after prayers in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, February 14, 2016. REUTERS/Thierry Gouegnon

Now though some are now breaking through into the most important positions in government, administration and business in Ivory Coast – positions long held by males in this traditional society.

Michelle Loboue, a sub-prefect of Bouake region, poses for a photograph in Bouake, Ivory Coast February 6, 20116. REUTERS/Thierry Gouegnon
Michelle Loboue, a sub-prefect of Bouake region, poses for a photograph in Bouake, Ivory Coast February 6, 20116. REUTERS/Thierry Gouegnon

In 2012 in the wake of a decade of civil war and political turmoil, Ivory Coast named Niale Kaba, as finance minister, the first woman to hold the post in more than a half century as an independent nation. After years of stagnation, the West African nation is now among the continent’s fastest growing economies.

Another woman, Massandje Toure-Litse, now heads the cocoa marketing board. Ivory Coast is the world’s leading producer of the chocolate ingredient, which accounts for roughly 15 percent of GDP and more than a third of foreign currency earnings.

Danielle Dona Fologo (C) wife of Ivorian politician Laurent Dona Fologo and president of a sustainable development NGO called Ivoire DD, poses for a photograph with her team members near a poster reading "I don't waste my school's tap water" in Abidjan, Ivory Coast February 27, 2016. REUTERS/Thierry Gouegnon
Danielle Dona Fologo (C) wife of Ivorian politician Laurent Dona Fologo and president of a sustainable development NGO called Ivoire DD, poses for a photograph with her team members near a poster reading “I don’t waste my school’s tap water” in Abidjan, Ivory Coast February 27, 2016. REUTERS/Thierry Gouegnon

“We must value women with all their differences and in all the sectors of the workforce,” said Via-Juliana Akre, 41, standing beside a row of newborn babies at the clinic in the commercial capital Abidjan where she has worked as a midwife for the past decade ago.

A Reuters photo essay prepared for International Women’s Day on Tuesday captured Ivorian women in all realms of work – from gas station attendant to plastic recycler and lawyer.

 Via-Juliana Akre, a 41-year-old a nurse, poses for a photograph in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, March 3, 2016. REUTERS/Thierry Gouegnon
Via-Juliana Akre, a 41-year-old a nurse, poses for a photograph in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, March 3, 2016. REUTERS/Thierry Gouegnon

Despite some advances, however, many Ivorian women point to the challenges they continue to face.

For example, while Ivory Coast saw the appointment of a woman to the rank of general for the first time in 2012, there are still only 26 female officers in the entire army.

Marie Sassou, a 21-year-old car mechanic, poses for a photograph in the garage she works at in Bouake, Ivory Coast February 10, 2016. REUTERS/Thierry Gouegnon
Marie Sassou, a 21-year-old car mechanic, poses for a photograph in the garage she works at in Bouake, Ivory Coast February 10, 2016. REUTERS/Thierry Gouegnon

“There are many challenges, but the biggest is the inequality of the sexes. We are not yet considered as equal to men,” said 39-year-old Fleur Zebi.

Zebi quit her job as a travel agent in 2008 to set up her own travel agency.

 

Florance Messan, a 45-year-old lawyer, poses for a photograph in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, March 3, 2016. Women have long played a dominant role in agriculture in Ivory Coast and in the sprawling markets where most Ivorians purchase their daily necessities. REUTERS/Thierry Gouegnon
Florance Messan, a 45-year-old lawyer, poses for a photograph in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, March 3, 2016. Women have long played a dominant role in agriculture in Ivory Coast and in the sprawling markets where most Ivorians purchase their daily necessities. REUTERS/Thierry Gouegnon

“There’s still too much injustice toward women,” she said standing in her second business, a salon that caters to men and women suffering from hair loss.

Ange Dede, a 29-year-old painter and decorator poses for a photograph in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, March 2, 2016. REUTERS/Thierry Gouegnon
Ange Dede, a 29-year-old painter and decorator poses for a photograph in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, March 2, 2016. REUTERS/Thierry Gouegnon

Discrimination often starts at a young age, said Fofanan Man, 59, who began selling traditional, colorfully printed African fabric in the central city of Bouake nearly four decades ago.

Valerie Bony, 48, a BBC journalist, poses for a photograph in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, March 5, 2016. Women have long played a dominant role in agriculture in Ivory Coast and in the sprawling markets where most Ivorians purchase their daily necessities. REUTERS/Thierry Gouegnon
Valerie Bony, 48, a BBC journalist, poses for a photograph in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, March 5, 2016. Women have long played a dominant role in agriculture in Ivory Coast and in the sprawling markets where most Ivorians purchase their daily necessities. REUTERS/Thierry Gouegnon

“Women still aren’t entirely free today. Education is the big problem for girls, because parents prefer to educate the boys first,” she said.

Natenin Konate, a 22-year-old gas station attendant, poses for a photograph in Bouake, Ivory Coast, February 7, 2016. REUTERS/Thierry Gouegnon
Natenin Konate, a 22-year-old gas station attendant, poses for a photograph in Bouake, Ivory Coast, February 7, 2016. REUTERS/Thierry Gouegnon

(Reporting by Thierry Gouegnon and Ange Aboa; Writing by Joe Bavier Editing by Jeremy Gaunt.)

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *