March 8th, respecting women’s rights, VAW, strategy for fighting: here is the opinion of the Secretary General of Amnesty International Guinea (Interview)

http://Actuguinee.org / Humanity celebrated International Women’s Day on Friday, March 8, 2024. In Guinea, this day is held under the theme “investment in favor of equal opportunities.” To discuss this day and certain aspects of women’s rights, Actuguinee interviewed Mrs. Bah Fatoumata Diaraye Bah, a human rights and women’s rights activist and Secretary General of Amnesty International Guinea. In an interview, the president of the NGO Women Hope Guinea thoroughly examined the situation of women’s rights in Guinea and made recommendations for their implementation. Interview:

Actuguinee.org: What does March 8th represent for you?

Fatoumata Diaraye Bah: Like all women around the world, this day represents a day of actions, advocacy, and diagnosis regarding women’s rights. For several years now, the United Nations has established this day as International Women’s Day celebrated worldwide to commemorate the actions taken by our predecessors in favor of the rights of girls and women. So, this day is a day of actions, advocacy, and diagnosis to assess the progress that has been made and the challenges that remain to be addressed to uphold women’s rights worldwide.

Actuguinee.org: What is your opinion on the respect of women’s rights in Guinea?

Fatoumata Diaraye Bah: There is a lot to be done. Today, if we look at the level of the state, it is true that there are laws inspired by international conventions on women’s rights that are taken into account in our laws for the respect of the rights of girls and women, but implementing them is the problem. Progress on women’s rights should be measured by that girl or young woman living in Yomou. Does she have access to education, to health (…)? Today, there are many organizations in our country that, with the help or support of technical and financial partners in collaboration with the government, work with state institutions to take actions or advocacy efforts in the direction of respecting the rights of girls and women. However, there are many challenges regarding these issues, and this is the case everywhere. When we take the areas of education, health, and gender-based violence in general, we have participated a lot. We have seen girls who have been victims of domestic violence, physical, psychological violence everywhere in the country. So, it remains a challenge despite the efforts made in this regard.

Actuguinee.org: What are you doing concretely for the respect of women’s rights in Guinea?

Fatoumata Diaraye Bah: March 8th is every day of the year, it’s every day, every second, every minute that God makes, we must work for the respect of women’s rights. We cannot act everywhere and at all times, we are limited in our resources. Certainly, we are supported by well-meaning people or those who advocate for women’s rights, but each individual tries to do what they can (…). So, what we can do is raise awareness, provide training and information on the rights of girls and women because we believe that a person who is not trained or informed about their rights cannot know and cannot demand their rights. So, we try to do what we can with our limited resources and collaborate with organizations working in this direction to make a change because, alone we can go fast, but together we can go better and much faster. In life, nothing is easy, so I do my best to make a small change wherever I go. A small action just to change something is better than sitting and waiting for others to make changes. So, whatever I can do to advance the fight, I do it.

Actuguinee.org: What are the challenges you face in your fight and how do you manage to overcome them?

Fatoumata Diaraye Bah: We are faced with customs and traditions that sometimes do not directly support the rights of girls and women. We are not saying that our customs and traditions are bad, but sometimes there are barriers, communications that do not favor the respect of women’s rights. So often, as an activist, when you start adopting a certain language regarding women’s rights, you are called all sorts of names and at some point, you face difficulties. But we try to adopt a certain behavior to make ourselves understood. That’s why the fight for women’s rights must start at the grassroots level (…) Men alone cannot do everything, we must fight together, that’s why this fight must be led with men.

Actuguinee.org: What are your recommendations for women’s rights to be respected in Guinea?

Fatoumata Diaraye Bah: My recommendations are in several areas because the responsibilities are shared. At the family level, each person must get involved to ensure the respect of women’s rights at all levels. At the state level, instead of organizing parties and dancing and singing, I recommend to the Ministry [of Women’s Promotion, Children, and Vulnerable Persons] to organize meetings on this day to discuss women’s rights and try to diagnose the level of respect for women’s rights and together discuss key issues regarding girls and women, and perhaps come up with a document at the end of the day and provide recommendations based on the laws that have been passed to find solutions to all the problems. For human rights organizations in general, it’s about coming together, taking solidarity actions, not going in different directions because we have the same concerns, the same fight, it’s our role as NGOs and civil society. So, we are not enemies, we are not adversaries with the state, we are here to complement, to lend a hand, because the state alone cannot achieve it, we must work together. For girls and women, they must stand up to fight and demand their rights because if we know our rights, no one can violate them. To the judiciary, even though it is part of the state, we invite it to deliver justice to the victims.

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