Diakhoumba Gassama
Senegal / Spain
I think that African Feminists should urgently become versed, visible and lead several critical
development issues to influence all policies and programme that affect women and
girls in Africa.
I am a human rights lawyer and I am currently working for UNDP in New
York. I am a feminist because I believe as a human rights activist that there
is a serious emergency for women and girls to be respected and for them to
have the same opportunities as men and boys in all spheres of society. But,
most importantly, I am a feminist because I am angry, not ready to compromise
and prepared to stand up against any violation of women’s and girls’ rights
anywhere in the world. I believe that it is time for accelerated action as
women of the world have been patient for long enough. I feel like the feminist
community is the space for well thought through, critical and effective change.
I am a feminist with not a single ‘maybe’, ‘if’ or ‘but’. I think African feminists
face challenges within and outside the movement. Within the movement there
is a lot of unnecessary ego fights and distrust that make us weaker. There is
also a lack of serious commitment to accountability and to empowering as well
as giving space to younger women.
I think that African feminists should urgently become versed, visible and lead
several critical development issues to influence all policies and programme that
affect women and girls in Africa. As a Francophone African I also feel that
the movement is evolving at two speeds depending on where you come from
and that sometimes Francophone (and also Lusophone) sisters are left behind.
Sometimes it feels like the leadership of the movement is nearly exclusively
exercised by Anglophone sisters. Outside the movement I think the greatest
challenge for us is to be understood by our families and communities and too
many times I have seen how lonely and isolated some of the sisters are.
Finally, I feel like there is too much interference from other regions (especially
the US and Europe) in our fora while we get very limited access to theirs.
Coming from a very traditional community, I am seen as an alien because I
choose to oppose and strongly voice concerns about inequality and harmful
practices in my own family and community. I believe that change starts with
us and our closest relationships and that