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Rasmata Ouedraogo is a strong advocate for gender equality in and through education
March 8, 2022Following a career as a chemistry teacher and inspector, Rasmata Ouedraogo is now the head of the Directorate for the Promotion of Inclusive Education, Girls’ Education and Gender (DPIEGEG) in Burkina Faso. She has always fought on behalf of the most vulnerable, with the duty of improving young girls' access to education. Her role is to bridge the gap between the Project in Support of Institutional and Technical Reforms for Equity (PARITÉ) and the Ministry of National Education and Literacy (MENAPLN) through the DPIEGEG.
Rasmata Ouedraogo is one of the first female physics and chemistry teachers in Burkina Faso. She is a member of an association of women scientists that aims to encourage scientific careers among girls. However, she admits that it is not easy to evolve in a male environment.
In our country, it is a daily challenge to be a woman in science because people don't trust you. You always have to prove yourself. You don't have the right to make mistakes. You have to work harder than anyone else to be up to the task.
When she was a student at university, she was the only woman in her class. Among her professors, women only taught the tutorials.
Fortunately, she has the determination of a maverick. "I like to take on challenges especially when people tell me only one gender should do it." Since childhood, she demanded from her father the same right to learn as her brothers. From the start, she went against the grain of the traditional culture of her country, which dictates that certain knowledge should only be passed on to boys. She is fortunate to have a father who believes in the education of all his children. What's more, she believes that she owes her vocation as a scientist to him. "When I was 7 years old, on the eve of the first day of school, my father taught me to count from 1 to 5. Since I loved my father, I did it. The next morning, before he took me to school, I voluntarily got in front of him and recited them. And today I know that this is what sparked my love for math."
After 14 years as a teacher and inspector, in 2008 she was appointed Director of Girls' Education at the secondary and post-secondary levels. In 2016, after the institutional change that established the new ministry in charge of national education, she was assigned to the Directorate for the Promotion of Inclusive Education, Girls’ Education and Gender (DPIEGEG) in Burkina Faso. She then complemented her knowledge through several courses on gender issues (gender and education, gender and gender-sensitive pedagogy) in Burkina Faso, thanks to the Ministry of Women's Affairs, UNESCO and other training courses provided by NGOs, and abroad at Emory University. Conscious of the decrease in the number of girls in the classroom and even more so in science, she believed that this position was an opportunity to promote girls' access to and success in school.
In 2019, when the Project in Support of Institutional and Technical Reforms for Equity (PARITÉ) was created, she immediately saw the opportunity to promote and improve gender equality. Her directorate was identified as the best entry point for the project and the ideal interface with the ministry, for which she became the focal point.
Les enjeux pour moi, c’est de pouvoir mobiliser tous les acteurs et les actrices du projet pour l’égalité des chances et d’opportunités entre hommes For me, the challenge is to mobilize all the actors in the project to promote equal opportunities between men and women in education, to promote gender equality through education and in education.
While indicators today show that a certain parity has been achieved, or even surpassed, in favor of women in terms of access to education, she cautions those who thought that the battle has been won and that it is time to stop. The conditions of life and studies within the institutions are still unfavorable to girls.
However, a major achievement after two years of PARITÉ's existence is the synergy of actions with its management, which is now better involved in all the regalian actions. "Because the issues of equality and gender are transversal. With this project, we can better integrate ourselves and the other structures can understand the importance of involving us. We are invited to give our opinion and make recommendations. It is becoming a reality, it is a major achievement”.
Rasmata Ouedraogo considers PARITÉ as the path to equality between men and women in education and through education in her country.
In conclusion, she shares with us this message from an inspiring woman :
Believe that we can succeed but above all that we must succeed. Whether you are a girl or a boy, whether you come from a poor or a rich family. Knowledge and work are the conditions for success for oneself and for a better life together.