The Bijagos, a changing matriarchal archipelago
Audio 19:30
The Bijagos archipelago, in Guinea-Bissau.
Marie Casadebaig / RFI
By: Amandine Réaux
Big report in Guinea-Bissau, this small Portuguese-speaking country of 2 million inhabitants located in the south of Senegal.
Off the mainland, a few hours by boat, a unique archipelago in West Africa: the Bijagos, 88 islands and islets, of which only 23 are inhabited.
The archipelago is governed by a so-called matriarchal society, that is to say that women have their full place in the decision-making bodies of the villages.
Within the household, they have more power than elsewhere in Africa.
But, these traditions are today in danger.
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At issue: evangelization, globalization and tourism: in short, the arrival of modernity in a place long isolated from the rest of the world.
“The Bijagos, a changing matriarchal archipelago”, a major report by Amandine Réaux.
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