people-from-guinea

"The rights of Guinean children are in an alarming situation because they are neglected, and every day we participate in the violation of their rights, despite the efforts made by Guinean child rights advocates, ratified conventions, and adopted laws"

"The authorities need to stop supporting tradition and instead support the law. Everyone needs to wake up, including religious leaders, community leaders and other influential public figures"

"It’s also important for us to go and talk to the fathers, even if the topic is taboo and hard to talk about. Sometimes it’s clear that we are unwelcome. We get chased out of some neighbourhoods by residents who are angry at us"

"Some women think that genital mutilation is a religious requirement, which is not true. We explain to them that traditions today are based on positive, not negative practices"

"This year, we are trying to raise awareness among mothers and aunts, who are complicit in the ritual and whom we feel often don’t understand the repercussions. Many didn’t have the opportunity to go to school or learn about their rights"

"Children are always excited to go on vacation, but here, many parents take their daughters to stay with their grandmothers or aunts and tell them how fun it will be. Instead, they cut them or amputate them. I say “amputate” because that’s what it is. Some genital mutilation also takes place in the city, in Conakry. You see little girls dressed in red for the ceremony. Little girls are not protected during the holidays and that terrifies us"

"Our struggle must become everyone's: parents, neighborhood leaders, judges, imams... We are not fighting for money or fame, but because we have experienced this violence. Women deserve to have a pure and complete body, not to be deprived of their rights"

"People tell my father, 'You've lost your daughter; she's fighting against tradition and religion!' He's scared but supports me"

"Since July, we've prevented fourteen early marriages"

"I found myself face to face with an old woman who circumcised me"

"All these girls take care of their children and no longer go to school, or their parents reject them"

"There are many unwanted pregnancies among young people"

"They say that the environment makes the man, but in my neighborhood, everyone does whatever they want"

"Every day, I receive calls from women who have been abused by their husbands. This encourages me to continue the fight, because, by talking to me, they demonstrate that something is changing in Guinea. Today, women dare to speak out"

"They call me the girl with the headscarf who breaks marriages"

"We must denounce violence; it's the only way to stop this cycle," the young activist chanted at the time. "The shame of rape must change sides"

"Through Make Every Woman Count, my aim is to provide a spectrum of platforms and tools for African women, grassroots, activists, international organisations and women rights groups. I feel that what has been missing from the African women’s movement is a space, a voice that comes directly from African women."

"In September 2009, while demonstrating against the regime in Guinea, women were raped and sexually abused in the capital – Conakry. This horrible event hunts my life every single day. There was a young woman who was at her 3rd year at the University among the victims, she was raped and sexually abused. When I saw a picture of her being dragged half naked by two soldiers, I couldn’t sleep for nights. At that point, I decided that I couldn’t keep going on with my life knowing what has just happened without taking actions. That young woman could have been me and her crime was just to ask for democracy and peace."

"While the rights of women were instilled in me at a very young age, my passion was inspired by 10 young girls I used to give evening classes in my neighbourhood whose parents couldn’t afford to send them to school. I remember going to school and seeing young girls not much younger than myself staying at home to work or help their families. I just could not understand why they were not able to go to school, and I just couldn’t accept it. I decided if they are not able to go to school, I would teach them. So, I set up evening classes to teach the children basic reading and writing skills. I am proud to say that all of these young women have now gone through full education including University. Their stories touched me enormously and motivated me to be member of the Guinean Children Parliament where I advocated for the rights of girls to education and also later on to do a Master of International so that I would be better prepared to assist women and girls. I would say this is when the passion to help others was birthed."

"I guess people have come to realise that there is more to Africa than starving people, raped women, war, child soldier,… whatever the reason, we need to remember that we cannot rely on others to develop the continent"

"That is what we are really trying to do – to really give African women the voices they deserve."

"Don’t wait for money. We are in a world of Globalisation and Capitalisation where people are so focused on their own needs and serving themselves. Yet, we can succeed whilst helping others. Africa has many challenges and it is up to all of us to ensure we work together and make sure that Africa as a whole can grow and prosper. We need to promote peace and continue to think about the value of the community."

"If you know what you want and you have the passion and motivation to do it, nothing will stand in your way. More importantly, you have to believe in yourself and stand by your decisions. Life is full of challenges and you will never overcome these challenges if you doubt yourself. Always remember that nothing is impossible if you believe in it and put some work into it, you will succeed"

"The participation and inclusion of African Women and girls are vital to the continent growth and development. African governments can simply no longer afford to deny the full potential of half of the population. Women and girls need to be empowered and have their developmental skills unleashed to participate in the socio-economic and political development of the continent"

"It is not a secret that the world’s challenges will not be effectively addressed unless the exclusion faced by women and girls is tackled across the board. We need to have more women in decision-making and leadership positions because whether the issue is food security, economic recovery, health, or peace and security; the participation and inclusion of women is needed today more than ever for more sustainable and equitable solutions"

"We simply cannot develop a continent if half of its population is left out. African governments need to tap into the talent and wisdom of women"

"Women who have entered into leadership positions attribute their success to factors such as access to education and work opportunities, good mentoring by both men and women, support from family, employers, supervisors, teachers and colleagues, and successful lobbying by gender activists"

"African Governments needs to be accountable, and take responsibility in keeping their promises. We need to push African governments to work harder on women issues; those who have not ratified the various legal framework to ratify, those who have already ratified to put money aside for implementation with concrete action plans such as clear gender budgeting as well as allocating more funding for food security, human security and better education/health care for sustainable development."

"Today, African women are beginning to break the political glass ceiling in many countries and finding their way in roles that was traditionally occupied by men. We now have two African women out of 54 head of state and the chair of the African Union is a woman"

"I hope to help them find strength in their voices while raising awareness on their issues and work on the international stage"

"Most organizations that focus on empowering and gaining the equal rights of women often neglect the voices of African women themselves"

"I wanted to do something that could have a positive impact on African women’s and girls’ lives – and the African Women’s Decade was the perfect opportunity"

"As I had grown into a young woman she says, I could no longer bear the authority of the very one who did not protect me. I had only one desire: to go away, from my mother, my family, my country"

"One day, my mother said we were going to the cinema. And I found myself the victim of a horror movie, an unimaginable trauma that I had never managed to talk about, until I found love and wrote In My Flesh"

"I embodied the most arrogant and admired kind of femininity, I who was supposed to be diminished"

"Let's draw attention to the religious, medical, psychological and social realities of this ancestral practice"

"I was inflicted – with no anaesthetic, of course – this very private and irreversible mutilation in the name of ancestral custom"

"I was dragged away by the old hag in a plane whose doors closed behind me like those of a safe: or a tomb. After my mutilation, this kidnapping was for me a second death"

"As I am reaching the halfway mark in my life she says, I am full of projects and hope to bring them to fruition in my land of birth. Africa is looking forward... but for the time being, serenely, I cherish the pleasure to be back home, looking at the silvery sea like Ulysses after his long, eventful journey home"

"I had the dream of producing my work, I wanted to try some ideas that I solidified throughout over the years,The album Nha Sunhu (2015) is the result of that, that thirst of independence"

"I wanted to include the energy and authenticity of African music"

"always leave something to decipher"

"Eneida Marta is a special artist; her soul has an unusual depth. Her distinct timbre can balance lament and hope in the same word, in the same breath. It is not difficult to fall in love with her voice, and once you do, it will be difficult to keep away from her.” Nuno Pacheco in Jornal Público"

"The personalisation of political life is over. We will no longer entrust politics to one man (Alpha Condé). We will entrust it to the people (of Guinea)."

"God or Nothing: A Conversation on Faith (Ignatius Press; Sew edition (September 1, 2015)) by Cardinal Robert Sarah (Author), Nicolas Diat (Author)"

"The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise (Ignatius Press; Paperback edition (April 15, 2017)) by Cardinal Robert Sarah (Author), Nicolas Diat (Author)"

"Mass is the salvific sacrifice, not a fraternal meal."

"I don't know who, in the space of three months of taking power, led you to make two decisions of enormous gravity that have reopened great wounds in the hearts of many Guineans."

"Africa could become the spearhead of the Church in its opposition to Western decadence"

"Unfortunately, it is easier to destroy a country than to re-build it."