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Life for many women in Sabalibougou, one of the poorest areas in Mali’s capital Bamako, is slowly getting better - thanks to new credit and education schemes.
Working with Oxfam partner OMAFES, women have organised literacy classes and a ‘bank’, and now attend local council meetings. Their presence at the meetings ensures that male councillors understand what needs to be done to improve the lives of local families.
OMAFES began running the schemes after seeing the great pressure women were under to provide for their families. Co-ordinator Baba Togola says: “Men were seen as the head of the family, but found it difficult to get to work. Women…couldn’t get credit for their businesses and because they were illiterate the wholesalers would cheat them.”
The schemes allow women to take out small loans, and teach women how to fill in their own reports for ‘bank’ loans. Over time their confidence has grown, and they have turned their attention to other issues, such as politics. With OMAFES’s support, women hold meetings and discuss how to capitalise on political changes following the decentralisation of government.
They went together as a group to their local councillor, who gave them a piece of land on which they plan to build an office. They have also lobbied local councillors about the need for more schools and clean water in Sabalibougou.
Keita Kendja Souko, one of the women who attend the meetings, explains: “In the meetings I realised that changes could be made by women like us; not just people at the top. The training opened our minds. Now we try to tackle each problem in our district one by one, even though it’s time consuming and might require a lot of thinking. We know now there are no instant solutions.”
If you’re interested in reading other case studies of Oxfam’s programme work involving democracy and human rights, then click here. |
