in Togo, the wives of chiefs advance the cause of women

Some, at dawn, drove for several hours from their villages to the prefecture of Tsévié, a large town located 35 km north of Lomé. All have put on their most beautiful boubou for the occasion. Some more shimmering than others, the embroidery finer, the necklaces of delicately painted terracotta beads heavier. These are the signs of relative material well-being, but above all the distinctive signs of a form of influence, if not power. The signs related to their status as “fiosron”, literally “chief’s wife”, in the Ewe language. This social quality explains why about twenty of them find themselves seated there, side by side, in the council chamber of the prefecture of Tsévié hung with a huge flag of Togo.

They respond to the invitation of Adjoa Thérèse Akakpo, president of La Colombe, a member association of the International Alliance of Women. “The village chiefs are the guarantors of our habits and customs and, theoretically, of the application of lawsshe explains. As ordinary people in rural areas do not know the laws well, the idea is to go through the fiosron so that they use their influence with their husbands in order to improve the lot of women. » In other words: wives of powerful men in the service of other women who are victims of the macho excesses of a patriarchal society.

Founded in 1990 by Adjoa Thérèse Akakpo, then a teacher, La Colombe’s mission is to“provide immediate and effective solutions to the various challenges faced by rural women: food insecurity, poverty, major health problems, illiteracy, sexual violence and sexism, high dropout rate among young girls, lack of access to land, therefore to credit, that is to say financial dependence vis-à-vis men”.

In the town of Vo Koutimé, more than 700 girls and young women who are victims of various forms of violence and sexual exploitation have been trained by the association (sewing, hairdressing, cooking, dyeing, etc.). All students also received additional training on the basics of entrepreneurship and literacy. “Our goal was to empower them. It is then up to them to train other young girls and open their own small businesses or workshops., explains Adjoa Thérèse Akakpo. In 2019, the center reoriented its training towards the promotion of entrepreneurship for women and young people in the agroecological and bioenergy sectors.

“Soon you will dominate us”

That day, in Tsévié, the president of La Colombe came with printed copies of a “simplified extract from the personal and family code”. “Fiosron do not replace chiefs or judges, she specifies. But they fill a void in the care of victims. » There is no question of jumping over the customary level: “Before we could go through their wives, we had to convince the men. And it has not always been easy to make them aware of women’s rights, particularly in terms of land ownership and the right of inheritance. »

The case of Atipola Gabina, 36, illustrates this kind of problem. Accompanied by “her” fiosron, Agbessi Akoele, she says she was dispossessed of her inheritance – land planted with palm oil trees – by her in-laws on the death of her husband. “At that time, I was doing housework in Lomé, she explains. When I found out, they had taken everything. I came to see La Colombe to find out what to do in court. »

“The fiosron do not replace chiefs or judges, but they fill a void in the care of victims”

In Tsévié, sitting behind a long desk facing this audience of around forty women – fiosron and victims – alongside, in particular, the representative of the council of village chiefs and the canton chief, Adjoa Thérèse Akakpo listens to Atipola Gabina and other victims. Today’s topic is family law. And to hear the secretary general of the prefecture, we say to ourselves that there is work. “On behalf of men, I am jealous of so much focus on women’s rights. Soon you will dominate us”, slips Yendoubé Bandékiné. In a falsely playful tone, he seems to be saying: “it’s not tomorrow the day before”.

“And support your president, who has placed you at the center of his action”, don’t forget to add the official. You can never be too careful in this country where Faure Gnassingbé has been head of state since 2005.

“I can’t do miracles”

Considering what Togolese family policy was during the presidency of its dictator father Gnassingbé Eyadéma (in power from 1965 until his death in 2005), and compared to other West African countries, the presidential record is not zero. For example, Togo, which has benefited from significant international support, has greatly improved its maternal and child health indicators. The maternal mortality rate fell by 10% between 2010 and 2017, the birth rate attended by skilled personnel increased by 11% over the same period, and the mortality rate for children under 5 years old was reduced by 25% between 2010 and 2020.

But the road is still long and can be painful. Sofia Mama, main wife of Dozo Djabou, chief of the village of Didopo, testifies to this: “The big problem is the education of girls. Many get pregnant between the ages of 10 and 12, so they drop out of school. There is also the question of water: there is only one fountain in the village, so the girls fetch water elsewhere and are raped on the roads. And then there are early marriages.she lists as so many open and so common wounds. “I can’t work miracles, but thanks to La Colombe, I feel valued, I play a role”explains Sofia Mama.

Sitting next to her, Aïcha Hamadou nods. “I was a victim of abuse from my husband, who did not give money for the family and our child. He has another wife and other children. I went to see the “queen mother”, she made him come and after that it was arranged”she testifies. “I showed him the excerpt from the family code on his rights and duties, I spoke to my husband, who told me to continue”details Sofia Mama. “Chief wives do not intervene directly, but they alert their husbands”summarizes Adjoa Thérèse Akakpo.