Fatime Khady Faye
Senegal
At a personal level, I am inspired by principles and ideals of justice and have translated this into
my efforts to fight for our right to be free to choose.
I live in Senegal, West Africa. I live in Toubab Dialaw (60 km away from
Dakar) in a small fishing village where I am tirelessly committed to the work
with women and youth associations.
I am a feminist as I have always been gender sensitive from childhood. I have
always refused to conform to stereotypes and resisted dictates that tended to
box me such as “you belong/you don’t belong to”. At a personal level, I am
inspired by principles and ideals of justice and have translated this into my
efforts to fight for our right to be free to choose. In the society I live in, much
of what women’s lives would be is often chosen for them and women often
become shackled by norms, traditions and the confines of traditional roles that
hamper their ability to actualize all parts of themselves.
I believe that in Africa, our biggest challenge is educating and empowering
women in communities. Whilst we have made great strides in more women
being empowered and educated, this has not filtered down to women at all
levels of society. In many contexts women still have to justify and fight for their
education and empowerment. Both of these, impact on their ability to claim
dignity, rights and also to advance themselves to another economic level.
If we want to strengthen our work in Africa, we need to get more organized,
especially in French speaking countries. We need to increase the dialogue and
the organising in our own spaces and countries and also across spaces and
countries. Then, we also need to build bridges with our Anglophone sisters.
Despite some initiatives to address the lack of connections between Anglophone
and Francophone feminist groups, we still have a long way to go. We need
to prioritise this, get together more often and build strong collaborations. Only
through this, will we finally see some sustainable changes in our countries.
In my own life, my professional activities have often focused on engagements
with youth associations in the area of sports and culture, as well as on economic
empowerment through creation of enterprises for women and health. I am
a member of the Association for Integrated Development in Toubab Dialaw,
Toastmasters Clubs International and the Pan African Network of Leaders
(PANeL) Senegal. These platforms provide me with many opportunities to live
out my feminist identity, to challenge existing inequalities and to grow.
My inspiration comes from all women around the world who do small (and
great) things to free themselves from stereotypes and invent new ways of
expressing themselves (writers, artists, politicians, etc.).
VPS II
. 49