In 2018, Equipop expanded its operations to promote women’s and young people’s civic and political participation through a project called “Bruits de Tambours” (Drumbeats).
In West Africa, 45% of the population is under age 15.1 Women represent 51%-52% of the population. Relative to their share of the population, women and youth are under-represented in decision-making institutions and community-governing bodies. Public life is carried out with little or no input from women or young people; consequently their problems and specific realities are not taken into account. Despite some progress, this situation is caused in part by unequal or dif–ficult access to financial and other resources, which in turn means that women’s and young people’s voices are not heard, even though they play a primordial role in their families’ social and economic life.“The authorities do not take our needs as women into account!” Young woman speaking during a women’s group meeting, Saint Louis, SenegalFollowing Senegal, which instituted a gender-parity law in 2010, many countries now use quota systems in order to improve women’s political representation.
If young people leave politics to old people, then older people will decide for them and make decisions that benefit old people! A young man from Saint Louis, SenegalUnlike gender parity, no law encourages youth participation in government. While political parties and community organizations have always had separate youth arms, such groups have primarily served to distance young peo-ple from decision-making bodies. In Senegal, young people, relegated to youth issues, face defiance from their elders.
