West Africa

Within this sub-region, PeaceWomen is currently monitoring 5 countries (Chad, Cote d' Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Sierra Leone). Central Africa is home to countries of medium (Cape Verde 118) to low (Niger 167) levels of human development, in addition to many post-conflicts countries. According to the Global Gender Gap Index (GGGI,) countries in Western Africa rank from 70 (Ghana) to 131 (Mali).

Currently, there are two United Nations Peacekeeping missions in this sub region, United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) and United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL)).

For information on National Action Plans in the region for SCR 1325, please click here.

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February 8, 2012 (http://www.perspectivesonglobalissues.com/archives/spring-2011-women/womens-transformations-during-c)
RWANDA/LIBERIA: Women's Transformations during Conflict: the New Political Face While women are not new to politics, women's presence and faces in politics have become increasingly more commonplace. Furthermore, women's entrance to politics is not just during times of peace, but also in times of unrest. During a change, conflict, transition or political shift more women are found entering politics, albeit through a series of factors and different representational capacities.
February 8, 2012 (IPS)
SIERRA LEONE: Sierra Leone Drafts a Development Plan for the Next 50 Years The recommendations give specific attention to women, who continue to be under represented in politics and other positions of power. These include a mandatory 30 percent representation of women in political office, a review of Sierra Leone's 1991 constitution, and the creation of an autonomous "Women's Commission" in government.
February 6, 2012 (The New York Times)
SOMALIA: For Somali Women, Pain of Being a Spoil of War The girl's voice dropped to a hush as she remembered the bright, sunny afternoon when she stepped out of her hut and saw her best friend buried in the sand, up to her neck. Her friend had made the mistake of refusing to marry a Shabab commander. Now she was about to get her head bashed in, rock by rock.
February 6, 2012 (Voice of America)
WEST AFRICA: Senegal's Female Presidential Candidate Has Equality Agenda As presidential hopefuls began campaigning for Senegal's February 26 election, the sole female candidate, Amsatou Sow Sidibe, was touring the country's coast shaking hands and speaking to the market women along the beaches of the country's capital. "I'm with the women along the sea who sell the fish," she said from Dakar. "I'm doing a tour of the coast and talking to fishermen and those who sell the fish, because without them the country cannot properly feed itself."
February 4, 2012 (The Herald Online)
LIBERIA: 'Wars Wouldn't Exist if Women Ruled' Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has been President of Liberia for a while now and is the first ever African woman to be elected President and has been credited together with other women in Liberia with ending the war in that country. Many African leaders have touted her a front of the United States of America. Deborah Solomon (DS) editor of the World Women Forum talks to her on this and other issues.