Amsatou Sow Sidibé (born 1953) is an academic, lawyer and politician from

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

. In 2012, she was the country's first female presidential candidate. Sidibé is a law professor at

Cheikh Anta Diop University Cheikh Anta Diop University (), also known as the Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, is a university in Dakar, Senegal. It is named after the Senegalese physicist, historian and anthropologist Cheikh Anta Diop and has an enrollment of over 60, ...

(University of Dakar), where she serves as director of the Institute for Human Rights and Peace. She also founded and has served as president of the African Network for the Promotion of African Women Workers (RAFET), based in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

. In her various roles, Sidibé has diplomatically advocated for

women's health Women's health is an example of population health, where health is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity". Often treated ...

, education and

gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality, gender egalitarianism, or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making, an ...

, helping to craft legislation around violence against women and to orchestrate Senegal's gender parity law in 2010, which requires political parties in local and national elections to have women for at least half of their candidates. Sidibé stated, "Women talk about parity everywhere, even in the bush," and has said, "They need to be at the highest level for decisions; that is important." Sidibé attended Université Paris II, where she earned a doctorate in law and political science.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sidibé, Amsatou Sow Senegalese women's rights activists Senegalese women activists 20th-century Senegalese lawyers Senegalese women lawyers Academic staff of Cheikh Anta Diop University Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas University alumni 1953 births Living people 21st-century Senegalese women politicians 21st-century Senegalese politicians 21st-century Senegalese lawyers 20th-century women lawyers 21st-century women lawyers Fula people