Fatou Sow
Senegal / France
I was among the first generation of African women researchers who, after independence, have
given a voice not only to African issues, but also to women.
I received my baccalaureate in science and philosophy from the Université de
Dakar before leaving for France to complete a doctorate in sociology, at the
Université Paris-Sorbonne, and much later in my career a Research Director
from the Université Paris Diderot. At a very early stage of my career, I was
attached as a researcher to the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
(CNRS) in Paris, while based at the Université de Dakar for 30 years. I spent
the last ten years at the Université Paris Diderot. This marked the beginning of
a career, which has taken me to three continents: Africa, Europe and North
America.
I was among the first generation of African women researchers who, after
independence, have given a voice not only to African issues, but also to
women. My encounters in the 1980s, and during the UN Women’s Decades
with Women’s Studies and feminist critiques in North American universities as
well as feminist organisations from the South have enriched my own analysis
on various topics ranging from environmental issues to women’s leadership,
from reproductive and sexual rights to the impact of religion