On June 2, on the occasion of the International Assembly of Hydrological Sciences which met in Montpellier, the Unesco Icireward center and the UM signed a partnership agreement with the Unesco Chair “Water, Women and Decision-Making Power” and the Felix Houphouet Boigny University of Abidjan. Interview with Euphrasie Kouassi Yao, holder of this chair, former minister and special adviser to Ivorian President AlAssane Ouattara.
In Abidjan, you direct the UNESCO Chair “Water, Women and Decision-Making Power”. Why a chair bringing together these three themes?
If we look at the uses of water, it is women who use it 90% and yet they occupy only 17% of the professional activities around water. How can society get better? We must give decision-making power to this woman who knows a lot, who knows the importance of water. We must resolve this imbalance with the gender and development approach.
In this approach, how do you define gender precisely?
Gender is a tool, a method, a development strategy. An approach that takes gender into account makes a comparative analysis of the situation of women and men, identifies the sources of inequalities in order to reduce and correct them. Social inequalities in terms of education and health; economic inequalities in terms of opportunities; political inequalities in terms of decision-making between women and men, between girls and boys.
This chair exists since 2006, why is it important that it is in Africa?
Because in Africa we have our standards, our cultures, our ways of doing things which are different from what is done in Europe. We need to take the tools of gender and adapt them to our context. And don’t forget that many African countries are developing countries. We do not lack wealth in Africa, nor resources, nor even money I would like to say, but we lack strategies to reconcile these resources with the expectations of the populations and that is the mission that we have set ourselves given with this chair.
What actions are you taking to achieve these goals?
The first thing is training because people lack knowledge of the gender approach. We have structured these issues of gender equality, we have implemented tools such as practical and strategic needs, the distribution of roles, stereotypes… We have already welcomed nearly 200 people and I assure you that when these decision-makers people come to our training, they change trajectory both for their family and for their business.
Today you came to sign an agreement with the Icireward center and the University of Montpellier. This agreement notably provides for exchanges between teacher-researchers and students. What do you expect?
For me, the University of Montpellier is the only university that counts. I know its power, I know its international influence. With this partnership we will have a greater influence and we will be stronger to meet the objectives of sustainable development in the areas of water, gender and technological innovation. We could save the world and I am weighing my words. Many countries are knocking on the door of Côte d’Ivoire, if we can count on a university which is already known, which already has the technology, then we can go faster.
This agreement also provides for joint research programs, academic and scientific activities. President Philippe Augé mentioned earlier the possibility of creating an international establishment diploma, what could this bring?
I think it would be a very good collaboration between France and Africa, I think that’s exactly what it’s all about. I have already mentioned the importance of training, there are skills in Africa and there are skills in Europe, how do you put them together? So really we are ready to set up this international diploma.
This agreement also mentions the reciprocal participation of partner entities of the two institutions such as research centers but also companies. In Ivory Coast you have yourself participated in the creation of label Gender and Competitiveness in business, what is it for?
You know companies are for profitability, you shouldn’t just tell them that they have to take women into account in their society. They must be presented with a label that will enable them to increase their profitability, their notoriety, their leadership thanks to women. We have set up a vast program to do this in the hydraulic field, we must extend it to all sectors. Thanks to the label, these companies will become more structured, they will benefit from more strength, intelligence and human resources. We already have 67 companies on the list.
You were Minister for the Promotion of Women, the Family and the Protection of Children and you are now special adviser to the President of Côte d’Ivoire Alassane Ouattara in charge of gender issues, in what way course allow you to advance the cause of women?
I started by teaching in girls’ high schools. I saw how brilliant they were and yet I didn’t see them in society. Why ? Women didn’t believe in themselves, society didn’t give them a lot of places, something had to be done to help them regain that place. I started working at the ministry, we set up the program Compedium of Women’s Competences of Côte d’Ivoire which reveals women, which reinforces their visibility in all sectors at all levels and without any distinction of ethnicity, political party or religion. I then created the gender equality and promotion department, the first in Africa. And from there I was minister then special adviser in charge of gender issues. At each level I issue projects, at each level I try to influence and I assure you that gender is an approach to influence.
In France, the question of gender is also in full debate. How do Ivorian women view what is happening in Europe?
Europeans do a lot of things, but we must remember that we must not deport what is happening in Europe to Africa or what is happening in Africa to Europe. For us, to get women to be decision-makers, you have to start by improving their living conditions. We must give them access to health and education, we must allow them to be aware of what is happening in the world to then allow them to participate and control. I saw in Europe the movement Me too, rapes… All of this exists in Africa of course, but we won’t be able to do anything if we don’t first fight against poverty.
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