International Women's Day, established by the United Nations, was celebrated this Sunday, March 8, 2026, at the Grand National Theater in a solemn and committed atmosphere. Under the international theme "Rights, Justice, Action for all women and girls," this edition provided an opportunity for Senegalese authorities, international partners, and women's organizations to reaffirm their commitment to equality and women's empowerment.

In Senegal, the commemoration was part of a National Women's Week organized around the theme: "The operationalization of the Economic and Social Recovery Plan (PRES) Jubanti Koom: women in action at the grassroots level".

For one week, from March 1st to 8th, a national caravan travelled through the different regions of the country as well as the eight territorial hubs, allowing for discussions on the contribution of women in the implementation of the economic and social recovery plan.

A national mobilization around the role of women

In each region visited, technical panels were organized to discuss various levers for development and economic empowerment. Discussions focused on financing and social protection mechanisms, domestic resource mobilization, public offerings, green and blue finance, gender bonds, crowdfunding, Islamic finance, and support programs for vulnerable households.

The highlight of this week of activities was the closing ceremony at the Grand Theatre, which allowed representatives from the eight territorial hubs to present the conclusions of their work in the form of a memorandum, intended to inform public decisions regarding the promotion of women.

Moving from commitments to concrete actions

Speaking before an assembly composed of administrative authorities, women's organizations and international partners, the Minister of Family and Solidarity, Maimouna Dièye, recalled the historical significance of this day.

According to her, the celebration of March 8th is a moment for taking stock but also for mobilization, allowing us to measure the progress made while highlighting the persistent challenges.

The minister stressed the importance of the theme chosen this year by the United Nations, which calls for transforming commitments into concrete actions to guarantee the effectiveness of women's rights and their access to justice.

"The theme challenges us on the effectiveness and impact of policies promoting and protecting women's rights in a context marked by a resurgence of violence and inequality," she said.

Inequalities still persist

Based on several statistical data points, the minister stressed that despite the progress made, women continue to face many disparities.

According to estimates mentioned during the ceremony: women's participation in the labor market is between 47 and 50%, compared to 72 to 80% for men.

Women earn on average 20% less than men for the same work.

In Senegal, only 13.8% of women own agricultural land, while they represent nearly 70% of the sector's workforce.

The unemployment rate also affects women more, at 22.1% compared to 9.6% for men.

According to the minister, these figures demonstrate that women remain an essential driving force for development but that they must benefit from more equitable conditions to fully express their potential.

Jubanti Koom, a lever for women's empowerment

In this context, Maimouna Dièye highlighted the ambitions of the Jubanti Koom Economic and Social Recovery Plan, which is part of the Senegal 2050 Vision.

This program aims in particular at: strengthening social protection, the economic empowerment of women; the massive creation of jobs; the promotion of Islamic finance; the development of priority sectors such as agriculture, fishing and livestock farming, as well as support for women's and youth entrepreneurship.

The mobilization of additional domestic resources should make it possible to generate more than 5,000 billion CFA francs to finance these ambitions.

Recognition of the role of women in the economy

Present at the ceremony, UN Women representative Arlette Rondeau praised Senegal's efforts in gender equality.

She noted that the country has an advanced legal framework with the parity law, the law criminalizing rape and pedophilia, as well as a draft law on the economic empowerment of women currently being developed.

However, she stressed that the texts must now be translated into concrete transformations of economic and social systems in order to guarantee genuine equality.

A plea for the recognition of domestic work

For her part, the president of the Association of Women Jurists of Senegal (AJS), Aminata Fall Niang, argued for better consideration of unpaid domestic work in public policies.

According to her, women's economic empowerment could generate significant social benefits, as women's income is mostly invested in children's education, health, and family well-being.

Women, key players in development

At the end of this National Women's Week, the various territorial consultations made it possible to identify local economic potential, but also the constraints and challenges that women face.

The memoranda resulting from this work should serve as decision-making tools for the government and its partners to strengthen public policies in favor of women and to make women's rights a concrete reality in Senegal.