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Senegal leads way on women legislators but challenges ahead

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September 12, 2022

Senegal leads way on women legislators but challenges ahead

Source: Africa News

Senegal will break new ground Monday as West Africa's largest-ever proportion of women MPs take their seats in a newly elected legislature, stirring hopes of change in a country where patriarchal laws and attitudes are entrenched.

More than 44 percent of seats in Senegal's next National Assembly will be held by women -- the biggest share of any country in the region.

But hopes for dramatic progress on issues ranging from reproductive rights to domestic violence also have to be balanced with political reality.

Click here to read the full article published by Africa News on 11 September 2022.

Region
Author
Portia Crowe
Publisher
AFP
Publication year
2022
Partner
Inter-Parliamentary Union
Aminata Touré, ancienne Première ministre du Sénégal et nouvelle députée, dans sa maison de Dakar, le 8 septembre 2022 afp.com - JOHN WESSELS

Senegal will break new ground Monday as West Africa's largest-ever proportion of women MPs take their seats in a newly elected legislature, stirring hopes of change in a country where patriarchal laws and attitudes are entrenched.

More than 44 percent of seats in Senegal's next National Assembly will be held by women -- the biggest share of any country in the region.

But hopes for dramatic progress on issues ranging from reproductive rights to domestic violence also have to be balanced with political reality.

Click here to read the full article published by Africa News on 11 September 2022.

Region
Author
Portia Crowe
Publisher
AFP
Publication year
2022
Partner
Inter-Parliamentary Union