When she was a child, Ayodélé Ognin saw her mother face many obstacles for the development of her small business.

These multiple challenges inspired her to create a structure that would allow her to advise and support women entrepreneurs so that they can prosper.

At 32, her dream has come true: she now runs Wurami, a consulting company that trains and supports women entrepreneurs.

This mission is all the more precious as they are very numerous in Africa, in particular in the poorest or less educated classes, where these micro-enterprises play a major role for the family.

A successful entrepreneur is three times more likely to send her children to school and lift them out of poverty. 

Afghan students resist

In September 2021, a month after their return to Kabul, the Taliban closed the doors of middle and high schools to girls.

Very quickly, they again forced them to wear a veil that covers their face, to reduce their outings to the maximum and always accompanied by a man of their family.

Women were barred from most government jobs, and in October they were barred from entrance examinations to certain university courses: agriculture, veterinary medicine, construction engineering and mining.

The latest draconian law to date now deprives them of university.

But unlike the Taliban's first passage to power, between 1996 and 2001, social networks have developed and female students are taking advantage of this to try to resist and alert the international community.

Singing for women's rights in Benin

Star Feminine Band is aptly named: an all-female group that raises awareness about the rights of women and children.

In their songs, in several Beninese languages, French or English, they evoke excision, forced marriages or other problems faced by women.

And the group meets with real success, with already two albums produced by a French rock label, Born Bad Record, and tours that follow one another in Europe.

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