Julie Cissé is a prolific advocate. When she is not facilitating leadership seminars in communities throughout her native Senegal, she might be promoting sustainable agriculture, or highlighting rural women’s disproportionate vulnerability to climate change. Cissé is the founder of WLP’s partner organization in Senegal, Groupe d’Initiatives pour le Progrès Social (GIPS/WAR), a non-profit community association that promotes the economic, social, and cultural development of women, especially in rural areas. For her years of tireless commitment to women’s rights, the Spanish-French association Mujeres Avenir flew her to Madrid, Spain to honor her with an award on International Women’s Day, March 8, 2018.
The awards presentation was part of Mujeres Avenir’s first annual International Conference of Women and Diplomacy, which shed light on the lack of gender diversity in diplomacy. (In the case of Spain, only 11% of embassies are directed by women, yet women make up 26% of the diplomatic corps.) In addition to honoring Cissé for her steadfast advocacy for women at the local level, Mujeres Avenir recognized her engagement in international advocacy since 2016 in an effort called the Kilimanjaro Initiative.
Cissé’s Advocacy for Rural Women’s Access to Land
In October of 2016, Cissé led a delegation of eight Senegalese women and men to the Kilimanjaro Initiative’s mass assembly of rural women, an international convening of activists at the foot of Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro. The Kilimanjaro Initiative is a continental movement that mobilizes rural women to advocate for access to land. Rural women often depend on land for their livelihoods, but their access to land ownership is limited. Many inheritance and property laws in African countries dictate that only men can inherit or gain legal title to land, while women are excluded from these rights. To demonstrate their solidarity and commitment to the cause, Cissé’s group joined advocates from 21 other African countries at the mass assembly to make a symbolic 16,000 foot ascent of the mountain.
The Kilimanjaro Initiative resulted in the Kilimanjaro Charter of Demands, which was sent to the African Union. The Charter spells out 15 demands, including 50 percent participation of women in decision-making bodies of land issues in African Union member states. Cissé said in her acceptance speech at Mujeres Avenir that they made these demands to ensure that progress is made.
Mujeres Avenir Honors Julie Cissé
As the winner of the Premio Mujeres Avenir (Women Avenir Award), which is presented each year to a woman who makes significant contributions to gender equality, Cissé delivered the event’s keynote speech.
France’s ambassador to Spain, Yves Saint-Geours, gave a glowing introduction of Cissé at the Mujeres Avenir conference. “Your work with GIPS/WAR on issues like clean water, [women’s] entrepreneurship, and climate change embodies all the strength of women in Senegal,” Saint-Geours said.
Cissé received a warm reception as she addressed the audience of 400 people, including more than 20 ambassadors.
After thanking Mujeres Avenir and those in attendance, Cissé drew comparisons between Spain and Senegal. “I don’t speak Spanish, but I understand that the problems women face [here] are the same [as they are in Senegal],” Cissé said. She went on to talk about the problem of gender-based violence and the regressive attitudes of some men that perpetuate it, acknowledging the importance of male allies in combatting this issue. “We love our men, and I salute all the men in the room today,” she said while smiling, which generated a laugh and a round of applause from the crowd.
Cissé came from rural Senegal to accept the award. In the villages she works in she helps women achieve food security with improved agricultural techniques in gardens and family farms. Cissé connects her hyperlocal work in Senegal to the global women’s movement through international coalitions like WLP, and calls for unity among women across the world. “We have to act together to truly advance,” she said.