One World – Woman engages in struggle for presidency in Senegal

ONE World – translation by Jacqueline van Wegen

Woman engages in struggle for presidency in Senegal

Senegal is heading for presidential elections. February 26 2012 will be the day and it looks promising: no less than 16 candidates are battling for power.  Among them the current president Abdoulay Wade, who wants to run for a third – illegitimate- term, and singer Youssou N’Dour. Interesting fact is that a woman is also found among the candidates: Amsatou Sow Sidibé. Dutch documentary makers  Aida Grovestins and Machteld Aardse (from Amsterdam) show her fierce battle against corruption, misgovernment and greed in their documentary Women of Waalo.

-1.    Why this documentary?

Aida (director/producer): “ Just like the three women who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011*, more and more African women are standing up to create a more sustainable and peaceful  society. They are the agents of change of this time, and are negotiating during failed peace processes for peaceful leadership and democratization. Unfortunately the stories of women and their battle for peaceful change are often underexposed. With the story of Amsatou Sow Sidibé, Women of Waalo shows how women are working on a new form of leadership in Africa and where their strength lies. Women are more than family caretakers or victims of repression.”

-1.    Fifteen candidates are anxious to drive president Wade off of his authoritarian throne. What makes Amsatou Sow Sidibé so special?

Aida: “ Sow Sidibé is extremely passionate and for years has committed herself to human rights as professor and lawyer in Senegal as well as in other African countries.  She has frequently been involved in (international) peace negotiations and in this way gained a broad experience of which she can make use of if she’ll be elected. As a female leader she carries out the message that a political leader should be there for the whole society and all the population groups and with that comes respect for the constitution. According to Sow Sidibé progress can only be accomplished by acting on behalf of the common interest. Hence she fights against the corruption in the Senegal government: it is time for a new form of leadership in a country where male politicians too often have fallen for the temptations of self enrichment. “

-1.    Former ministers Moustapha Niasse and Idrissa Seck are indicated as favorites for the presidency. How is Sow Sidibé going to compete with them?

Aida: “ Niasse, Seck and also N’Dour are in the lucky circumstance  to have much more money to spend on their campaign then Sow Sidibé. But the men have some obstacles to contend with as well: For example Seck has already been convicted once for corruption en N’Dour hasn’t had any education. Contrary to Sow Sidibé who has an enormous knowledge, a lot of experience and a good reputation. During the elections her support will have to come for the largest part from a grassroots campaign. The support of women’s organizations will be essential in this. In our documentary the grassroots campaign creates a beautiful contrast with the way in which her male opponents run their campaign battle.  They let themselves be transported from village to village with helicopters or  in a long procession of Fourwheeldrives  to draw voters.”

-1.    Is Senegal at all ready for a female leader?

Aida: “ The Senegal people are fed up with the corrupt politicians who run their country. There have never been more street protests against the government as this past year. It could be in Sow Sidibé’s advantage that she has always refused to be a part of the political system. The current president Wade has asked her for the position of deputy prime minister and even prime minister- she rejected his offer because she didn’t want to become a puppet of a corrupt regime. During this electoral struggle a lot of Sow Sidibé’s opponents try to get her on their side to draw more votes. They are all too well aware of her potential. But it also shows that a female leader is still a delicate issue in Senegal: being in public, a woman is supposed to present herself in second place. Not in the first, specially not in politics. It will be very exciting to see how she will stand her ground during elections among all those male politicians, she has a big taboo to break. But at the same time, the Liberian female president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf succeeded as well in breaking that taboo. And it goes without saying that the Senegal people want a president with clean hands.”

-1.    You’re documentary will be partly financed  by crowdfunding. Why?

Machteld (artist/producer): “ The topicality of this subject  doesn’t wait, so there was no time for us to go through the whole process of requesting funds and waiting for months for the outcome of that. Crowdfunding was therefore a pure necessity. The good thing about this is that we got in early contact with the public in an interactive way. People can follow the whole process of filming through social media and our website. A lot of people feel  involved and because of this the topic is broadly discussed right away. A nice side effect because we’re making the movie to stimulate the debate.”

You can find the trailer as well as more information about Women of Waalo on www.womenofwaalo.com . Curious to know how the battle of Amsatou Sow Sidibé is going to end? You can contribute to the documentary through www.cinecrowd.nl and expect beautiful return gifts.

*The Nobel Peace Prize 2011 was awarded to three advocates of women’s rights: The Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, activist Leymah Gbowee and the Yemenite journalist Tawakkul Karman.