#senegad

On #internationalwomensday I completed a training with these amazing women. They work for various NGOs in East Africa, and they are trying to end harmful practices such as child marriage and female genital cutting.

This is me with my host mother and name sake, Coumba Ndiaye. She has 24 other name sakes in the community because people love her so much. She is the president of all women's groups in town. She also hosts two weekly radio shows, where she speaks out against domestic violence, among other things. She is amazing!

Want to be part of something bigger than yourself? Do you want to empower a girl to continue her education? Do you want to give a little hope? Donate to the Michele Sylvester Scholarship(MSS) and present the opportunity for a Senegalese girl to further her education. No donation is too small! https://donate.peacecorps.gov/donate/fund/senegal-country-fund/ For $5, you can buy all the school materials a girl requires for a year For $10, you keep a girl in school for 6 more months For $20, a girl has the opportunity to stay in school for the next academic year and is materially fully equipped for it Every little bit helps! #peacecorps #senegal #girlsempowerment #mss #senegad #hope #education

Check out the #SeneGAD board with the #LGL swag! Excited for a productive year with these hard-working PCVs. #PeaceCorps #GenderAndDevelopmemt #LetGirlsLearn @senegad (at Thiès)

Senegal is at the forefront of including women in Parliament, and is one of the few cou tries in the world with a high percentage of women involved in politics. However, this must be paired with effective grassroots campaigning in order to ensure systematic change.

I promised many friends and family members that I would write a blog entry regarding gender and feminism in Senegal, yet I have skirted around the subject because I don’t believe that I have the talent or expertise to convey how gender roles affect the lives of Senegalese. Lucky for me, my amazing friend Becca recently published a post on her blog iterating her thoughts on gender and development in Senegal and feminism around the world. My thoughts are pretty much identical to hers! In order to achieve equality, we each have to do our part -- women AND MEN together.