Euphrasie Kouassi Yao (also Yao Kouassi, born 18 April 1964) is an Ivorian politician, who is the current special advisor to president

Alassane Ouattara Alassane Dramane Ouattara (; ; born 1 January 1942) is an Ivorian politician who has been President of Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) since 2010. An economist by profession, Ouattara worked for the International Monetary Fund (IMF)UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

chair on their committee on Water, Women and Decision-making.

Personal life

Kouassi Yao has a master's degree in Gender and Development from the Université de l'Atlantique d'Abidjan in Cote D'Ivoire. Her brother Jean Claude Kouassi has also been a minister in the Ivorian government.

Career

In January 2016, Kouassi Yao was appointed the minister for the ''Promotion de la Femme, de la Famille et de la Protection de l’Enfant'' (Promotion of Women, Family and Child Protection) by then Prime Minister

Daniel Kablan Duncan Daniel Kablan Duncan (born 30 June 1943) is an Ivorian politician. He previously served as Prime Minister of Ivory Coast from 11 December 1993 to 24 December 1999 and again from November 2012 to January 2017. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs ...

. Whilst in the role, she encouraged women to register to vote in the 2016 Ivorian parliamentary election. She was removed from the role in January 2017. In March 2017, she became a special advisor to president

Alassane Ouattara Alassane Dramane Ouattara (; ; born 1 January 1942) is an Ivorian politician who has been President of Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) since 2010. An economist by profession, Ouattara worked for the International Monetary Fund (IMF)Second Ivorian Civil War The Second Ivorian Civil War broke out in March 2011 when the crisis in Ivory Coast escalated into full-scale military conflict between forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo, the President of Ivory Coast since 2000, and supporters of the international ...

, in particular commemorating women who provided food for their families during the conflict. She promotes the organisation ''Amour, Solidarité et Audace'' (Love, Solidarity and Boldness) which has brought together 15,000 Ivorian women of different ethnic backgrounds and religions. In 2018, she spoke on French television channel

TV5Monde TV5Monde (), formerly known as TV5, is a French public television network, broadcasting several channels of French-language programming. It is an approved participant member of the European Broadcasting Union. The network is available across ...

about women's development in Africa. She has supported the government in its attempts to prosecute those who participate in

female genital mutilation Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision, is the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. The practice is found ...

. In the Ivory Coast, Kouassi Yao has also worked as the National Director of Equality and Promotion of Gender, Technical Advisor to the Minister of Women, Member of the board of directors of the National Office of Drinking Water, National Coordinator of the Compendium of Female Skills, and as co-ordinator of the Compendium of Women's Competences of Côte d'Ivoire. She has also worked for

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

as a chair on their committee on Water, Women and Decision-making. For 2019

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...

, Kouassi Yao was one of 20 Ivorian women honoured by the Global Platform for Enterprising Women. She was described as an "influential and inspiring woman". In December 2021, she released a book (''The secret of an adventure'') . The book detailed her roles in the government between 2004 and 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yao, Euphrasie Kouassi Women government ministers of Ivory Coast 1964 births Living people