Burkina Faso - More than 200 women from the communes of Gorgadji, Bani and Dori in the Sahel Region of Burkina Faso joined forces in Dori on November 9 to make their voices heard and demonstrate their commitment to living together and social cohesion in their region.

This was in response to a call from the Regional Coordination of Women in the Sahel region, which organised the mobilization day with the support of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), as part of its project “Strengthening women’s empowerment and resilience to promote peace and social cohesion in the North and Sahel regions of Burkina Faso,” funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.

IOM Chief of Mission in Burkina Faso, Ms Aïssatou Guissé Kaspar, and a delegation from the Swedish Embassy led by the Head of Cooperation, Ms Helen Holm, joined the women’s mobilization in Dori, along with the Governor of the Sahel Region, Lieutenant-Colonel Fabien Sorgho, who chaired the event.

This initiative created a framework for expression and direct and frank exchanges between women, on the one hand, and the authorities of the region on the other, thus encouraging women’s participation towards building a society of peace and social cohesion in the Sahel in particular and in Burkina Faso in general.

At the event, woman asserted all together the role they intend to play in promoting peace and living together, thereby demonstrating their commitment to social cohesion. They also took the opportunity to call for greater investment in basic social infrastructure, such as water boreholes, and in the development of income-generating activities for women.

Recognising the importance of the Humanitarian-Peace-Development nexus which is a key issue for the Government of Burkina Faso, IOM, for its part, works to promote a culture of peace and social cohesion, while providing support for economic and financial empowerment of women, including internally displaced women, through the implementation of income-generating activities, under this project in the Sahel and Northern regions of Burkina Faso.

This approach was welcomed by the region’s Governor, who said: “The International Organisation for Migration (IOM), with the support of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, has aligned its efforts with this government priority… I thank and congratulate IOM and the Swedish cooperation for this initiative.”

IOM welcomed the quality of the discussions, which highlighted women’s concerns in the region, and commended the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency for its willingness to support this project for the benefit of the people of Burkina Faso, especially women.

“The International Organisation for Migration and the United Nations System in Burkina Faso are determined to support the Government of Burkina Faso’s efforts, in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 to encourage all actors to increase women participation and gender mainstreaming in all peace and security efforts”, said IOM Chief of Mission in Burkina Faso, Aïssatou Guissé Kaspar. She acknowledged the support of the Swedish partners, represented by the Head of Cooperation at the Swedish Embassy in Burkina

Faso, Helen Holm, who travelled to Dori to support the women of the region, and expressed her commitment to the project.

In June 2023, a similar mobilization took place in the North region, where IOM is also involved in community stabilization actions as part of the same project supported by Swedish cooperation.

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For more information on this project, please contact:

Digré Laurent Guittey, Project Manager IOM Burkina Faso. Email: LGUITTEY@iom.int

Ousmane Niang, Community Stabilisation Programme Coordinator at IOM Burkina Faso. Email: ouniang@iom.int