*** Welcome to piglix ***

Monique Ilboudo

Monique Ilboudo
Monique Ilboudo in Latvia.jpg
Monique Ilboudo at a reception in Latvia on 16 October 2012
Born 1959
Ouagadougou, Upper Volta
Nationality Burkinabé
Occupation Lawyer, author
Known for Human rights activity

Monique Ilboudo (born 1959) is an author and human rights activist from Burkina Faso. As of 2012 she was Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Burkina Faso to the Nordic and Baltic countries.

Monique Ilboudo was born in Ouagadougou, Upper Volta in 1959. She studied law at the University of Ouagadougou, obtaining a bachelor's degree in 1982 and a master's degree in Private Law in 1983. She then studied at the Lille 2 University of Health and Law in France, gaining a diploma in advanced studies of private law in 1985. She obtained a PhD in private law at the Paris XII University in 1991, and became an Assistant professor at the University of Ouagadougou. Between 1992 and 1995 she was the author of the chronicle "Feminine Plural" in the Burkinabé daily paper L'Observateur Paalga. At the same time she established Qui-vive, observing the condition of Burkinabé women. She became a founding member of the Supreme Council of Information from 1995 to 2000.

Ilboudo was one of the women portrayed by Anne-Laure Folly in her 1994 documentary Femmes aux yeux ouverts (Women with open eyes). The title of the film is from a poem that Ilboudo reads, which says, "A respectable woman should learn from her husband, she shouldn't read, she shouldn't have her eyes open." She explains that in Burkina Faso, as in many African societies, men retain control over sexual relations. Procreation is the main factor rather than love. Polygamy with the goal of reproduction and casual unprotected sex by the men exposes the women to a high risk of HIV/AIDS. Ilboudo summarizes the dilemma: "You can't take precautions to have kids!"

In 2000 Ilboudo was appointed Secretary of State for the Promotion of Human Rights. In June 2002 she was appointed Minister for the Promotion of Human Rights, a newly created position. She has argued that poverty is a violation of human rights, and has said that it will be hard to overcome poverty until economic, social and cultural rights reach the same level as political and civil rights. She was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Burkina Faso to the Nordic and Baltic countries. In April 2011 Burkina Faso established diplomatic relations with Latvia, and in October 2012 Ilboudo presented her credentials to Latvian President Andris Bērziņš. The Burkina Faso ambassador's residence is in Denmark.


...
Wikipedia

...