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The First Female Candidate to Run for the Senegal Presidency

Senegal’s only female presidential candidate may stand little to no chance of winning in Sunday’s election, but activists say her presence alone is helping to advance a decades-long campaign to achieve gender equality in the West African nation. Anta Babacar Ngom, a 40-year-old business executive, is a voice for both women and young people — groups hit hard by the country’s economic troubles, widespread unemployment and rising prices. She has promised to create millions of jobs and a bank for women to support their economic independence. Ngom is the first female candidate to run for president in over a decade, reflecting how progress has been frustratingly slow in the minds of activists who say there has been a reversal among young people toward more traditional views of the roles of women in society.

SOURCE: AFRICA NEWS