The Network of Women Parliamentarians of the Francophonie has officially convened in Yaounde, Cameroon, on the sidelines of the 51st Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie – APF.
Gathered at the Senate, influential female leaders and government ministers united to advocate for women’s parliamentary diplomacy as a vital instrument to combat compounding global challenges. The discussions underscored the urgent need for a unified, gender-responsive approach to address contemporary security breakdowns, escalating climate crises, and the worrying decline of global multilateralism.
Presiding over the opening ceremony that took place on July 8, on behalf of the Network’s President, Viviane Teitelbaum, First Vice-President the Honorable Lydienne Epoube welcomed international delegations to the capital city.
Epoube praised the collaborative momentum established during the group’s recent inter-sessional meetings, particularly highlighting the hospitality and leadership of the Senate of Côte d’Ivoire. She reminded attendees that the network serves as an unyielding transnational chain of determined women who refuse to allow women’s rights to be treated as an optional policy goal.
The push for enhanced political representation was further amplified by Marie-Pierre Raky Chaupin, the UN Women Representative to Cameroon. Chaupin commended the network for its active promotion of gender equality and highlighted Cameroon’s notable progress in legislative inclusion, where women currently occupy 33.9% of the seats in the National Assembly compared to just 13.9% in 2007. Despite these localized achievements, broader global data presented during the sessions revealed that women still make up just over 27% of parliamentarians worldwide and hold less than 20% of parliamentary leadership positions.
Faced with this persistent global disparity, the regional leadership urged the 98 sections of the Parliamentary Francophonie to intensify their advocacy alongside the Inter-Parliamentary Union. Leaders emphasized that achieving true parity requires shifting commitments from mere rhetorical support into enforceable national laws. The primary objective remains elevating women into substantive decision-making roles, ensuring that human-centric diplomacy and gender equity sit at the center of international policy.
In terms of regional advancement, the forum highlighted Cameroon’s specific socio-economic and healthcare initiatives designed to foster female empowerment. Beyond achieving legislative figures that sit comfortably above the global average, the country has instituted legal mechanisms to secure women’s access to land and independent financial systems. Furthermore, participants praised advancements in reproductive health, noting an upcoming delegation visit to CRASER, a flagship medical center established under the leadership of Cameroon’s First Lady, Mrs. Chantal Biya.
Concluding the high-level proceedings, the assembly issued a powerful call to action for parliamentarians to transform the historic 1995 Beijing Platform for Action into tangible national budgets and local development programs. True solidarity within the Francophone space requires turning legal frameworks into measurable quality-of-life improvements for women and girls.
Evoking a timeless African proverb, the delegation reminded the assembly that while individuals may go fast alone, the network must move forward together to achieve lasting structural transformation.
