AFPHY (Association des Femmes Potières du Hebbiya et du Yirl

I established Centre pour la Promotion de l’Education et du Développement (CEPED) in the village of M’Bagne. The CEPED’s vision is to promote quality education in order to change the Mauritanian youth mindsets and accelerate gender equality. Gender is a concept that Mauritanian people & government don’t want to embrace because they believe that gender equality doesn’t aligns with our religion Islam. Young girls are subject to traditional practices such as Lebloukh, a force feeding girls in order to make more attractive for a marriage. The practice of Sayna entails kidnapping of a girl in order to marry her. Girls who are not undergone MGF are considered defiled, non Halal, those girls cannot cook for men, furthermore they are not worthy to marry according to my community. This kind of practice and faith make me realized that we cannot promote gender equality without changing the mindset and this can be done by promoting quality education. To conclude, if I am selected as a winner, I will use the Elevate Prize funding and support to establish others CEPED, and create a national CEPED network in order to accelerate gender equality in my home country, Republic Islamic of Mauritania.

I am my father’s 19th child, my mother was his 3rd wife. My parents divorced when I was 6 months. She left the house leaving me and my brothers behind. I became a victim of FGM before celebrating my 2 years on this earth. When I was 7 years old, I became a victim of pedophilia. I was raped multiple times by my older cousin who used to invite me into his room, promising he had sweeties.  

Years after, I was sent back to my mother who I had never even seen a picture of. My mother confessed to me that she couldn't take care of me because she had no income to ensure my future. So I was adopted by her older sister so that I can have a chance to be educated. What I gone through as.a young girl, and testimony my mother financial struggle, instilled in me resilience and the desire make a positive change, which led me to be a gender equality activist. In 2017, I founded AFPHY, a NGO that stands against gender-based violence and discrimination by promoting Quality Education, Equal Rights, and Generating Jobs for women and girls across rural areas of Mauritania

I am trying to solve gender-based violence. 2/3 of women and girls are victims of gender-based violence. According to the study we conducted in March 2020, 92.6% admit to having been victims of sexual harassment, domestic and sexual violence. The factor that contribute to this is the fact that there is no law that protects women and girls in Mauritania. 

AFPHY has set up several impactful projects that aim to change mentalities and create income-generating activities for women and girls. We have launched:

• In 2018, WIRA is a social enterprise for women working on artisanal handicraft pottery. We have trained 235 women who have produced and sold 1,600 ventilation ducts to International Labor Organization.  
• Salon International de la Poterie highlights their work and introduce them to a wider market. 
• In 2019, D-WIRA, CEPED established&benefit for 1211 young people.
•  In 2020, WAJE, provide a sustainable income to 102 women through ecological farming
• In 2020, Fight Co-Vi Initiative. We coached 99 survivors of domestic abuse from 23 villages in producing soap.
• 5,000 soaps and 5,000 masks were distributed in vulnerable localities.  
• 7 Cooperatives Water of Distribution established.

• In 2021,  research evaluating the Economic Cost of Domestic Violence.

What makes my organization unique is the fact that its gathers young people. AFPHY is a mirror in my community. Being the first and only girl yet who got a scholarship to pursue her studies abroad in my village, is a sign of hope for others girls that they can accomplish whatever they want if they believe in it. The sign marriage is not the end of girl’s career. After finish my studies, I decided to come back to my village and give what I have learnt back to my community. This was never done before, the men, who that chance to go studying abroad, never come back. 

AFPHY has directly impacted over 14,300 people so far, since it foundation in July 2017. We have created 35+ cooperatives of women in 35 different communities which enable them to be financially independent, and invest in the education of their children.This is why I was choosen the African Union to be the Saleema Youth Victorious Ambassador in eliminating Femal Genital Mutilation, and Empowering women ang girls in the North Africa Region in September 2020. Now the steps I am taking to achieve planned impact on gender equality is to set up a numerous of CEPED in different localities in order to promote gender equality in Mauritania. I am also planning to establish a social enterprise in pottery manufacturing hiring women and girls only in order to promote women economic freedom. This planning is effective because it’s redressing the gender equality in three different levels at the same time:

• To promote Quality Education for girls to permit them to be present in decision making institutions (now and future),
• To inculcate Gender Equality in youth for the more equal future,
• To economically empower women for their financial independance and their personal development.