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Story of Bénédicte Bailou, appointed to the ALT in Burkina Faso

Executive director of the citizen movement Femin in’, Bénédicte Bailou was appointed to the Transitional Legislative Assembly (ALT) by members of the civil society. Her testimony highlights how far she has come since she met the “Femmes ! Levez-vous !” project.

Since the dissolution of the National Assembly in 2022, the members of the Transitional Legislative Assembly (ALT) are appointed in part by the executive, the army, political parties, civil society and regional stakeholders.

Executive director of the citizen movement Femin in’, Bénédicte Bailou was appointed to the Board by members of the civil society.

Bénédicte Bailou took part in training courses in the framework of the “Femmes ! Levez-vous !” project, co-financed by the European Union and the PMLAL.

“I was particularly interested in the “leadership, self-esteem, self-confidence” training: it is these aspects that allow me to be at the Transitional Legislative Assembly today. To be nominated as an MP, you had to compete because there were many candidates. Thanks to the skills I acquired, I was able to defend myself better against the other candidates who were older and more experienced than me. It is also thanks to my audacity and courage acquired during the training that I was appointed to the ALT. (…)

The very reason for my presence in the ALT is to make proposals for legislation that I will draw up with the help of other colleagues from civil society associations because I am carrying their voice. I will therefore work with these organisations to propose laws that will consolidate women’s rights and improve their living conditions. (…)

I cannot make a difference on my own, so I will need the support of other colleagues. It is in this sense that the leadership acquired through the various training courses will enable me to convince other colleagues to rally to the cause of advancing the issue of women and gender in general and specifically, in a difficult security context.

Bénédicte Bailou concludes her story with a message for young girls: “For young girls who would like to get involved, I would say that audacity is a quality to develop.

Co-financed by the European Union (300.000 €) and the PMLAL (15.790 €), the « Femmes ! Levez-vous ! » project is implemented by the Progetto Mondo, Réseau Afrique Jeunesse, Association des Femmes Juristes du Burkina Faso and AIDOS.


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