National Women’s day

We took part in Panafrican Women's Day on July 31st, 2009. A wonderful day in solidarity, this day is celebrated by the women (and many men!) of every African country each year, and each year has its own theme. This year's theme was

"The Prevention of the Exploitation of Women and Children".

Unlike many marches and assemblies we have in North America, no Womens's Day goes by without the deposit of one law proposal per region. In Kayes, we carried a proposition regarding the prohibition of female circumcision, or excision. At last.

With the support of the local and regional governments, these proposals then get to be examined by the high officials of Mali, who then determine a vote. Bear in mind however, that a law only has power if the people have the knowledge and education to know and enforce the rights granted to them by this law. With literacy rates skimming only 25%, there's still a lot of work to do.

We were especially touched byy the current status of women in this country: the laws currently in place make a woman only worth 1/3 of a man. In concrete terms, if a man beats a woman and she presses charges, it takes her and two other victims to testify to make the crime as serious as if he had assaulted another man. Even then, the prosecution isn't always as stringent as it could be.

One of the other reasons for this year's theme was that with modern times, more and more young women (ages 14-25 on average) head to the big city from rural areas to earn their dowry. Unlike our concept of a dowry, a girl must have in her possession all she needs to set up a household before she gets married. Consequently, she must find the money to purchase a coal stove, pots and pans, utensils, etc., as well as clothing and bedding. With limited time and little education, many girls work for unregulated salaries or worse, must prostitute themselves to earn the necessary items to be an honorable bride. This, of course, puts them at risk for contracting HIV, experiencing violence or worse, never being able to leave the city to accomplish their primary goal: get married and have a family.

Mothers often have even less education than their daughters and are thus in a disadvantaged position when faced with the decision to send the girls to the city or not. Fathers may find it more important to marry their daughters than to consider the potential dangers of the urban environment.

And so we marched, together, through the streets of Kayes, singing, dancing and showing our solidarity in the face of womens' issues throughout the country. It was an incredibly powerful moment of unity and we were very honored to be a part of it.