In 2021, Mariatu Cande, a dynamic leader from Carauasse in Guinea-Bissau’s Gabu Region, stepped forward as a powerful voice for women’s rights and leadership. As the Coordinator of Carauasse’s Community Management Committee (CMC), Mariatu was among the many community leaders that publicly declared their decision to ensure that all human rights are respected in their community and wider social network. Her community arrived at this decision following the implementation of Tostan’s 3-year Community Empowerment Program that equip rural communities with the knowledge and skills they need to achieve their vision of wellbeing and address practices associated with deeply-rooted social norms, in an inclusive, dignified and respectful way.
Carauasse is now among the 3,000 Tostan’s communities partners that have collectively decided to embrace greater gender equality, leading to the abandonment of practices such as female genital cutting (FGC) and child/forced marriage over the past 34 years. Reflecting on this progress, Mariatu shares :
Since we held the public declaration, no child has been cut in our community. In the past, we and our daughters were subjected to this practice, but now it has ended in Carauasse.
Mariatu’s leadership didn’t stop at her village. Inspired by Tostan’s model of organized social diffusion, she has been actively reaching out to neighboring communities like Djumbembe and Sintcham-Saido. With the support of Tostan and UNFPA’s joint Programme, Mariatu and her CMC are building a critical mass of communities dedicated to gender equality and the protection of women’s rights.
After our training, we developed an action plan and have been raising awareness in neighboring communities, sharing what we’ve learned about sexual and reproductive health, gender-based violence, FGC, and child marriage,” Mariatu explains. “We organize four awareness sessions each month, and the communities we engage are starting to move toward their own public declarations.
As a mother of seven, Mariatu is especially passionate about ensuring that future generations of girls and women live free from harm and enjoy their full rights.
Tostan and UNFPA’s joint Program activities have significantly improved sexual and reproductive health rights in our community. It is true that with the lessons learned from Tostan’s program, we already had an understanding of women’s health and the negative consequences of ex-existence, early marriage, etc… Therefore, training on sexual and reproductive health that we received within the framework of the joint program allowed us to deepen our knowledge about our health, our bodies, family planning, sexually transmitted diseases, among others.
Mariatu Cande continues to stand as a beacon of hope and leadership, determined to inspire neighboring communities to embrace the same journey of empowerment and equality. Her efforts are transforming not only the lives of women and girls but also the very fabric of her community. With courage and conviction, Mariatu is leading the way to a brighter future where human rights and gender equality flourish for all.
