When Janet Ramatoulie Sallah-Njie, an African Commission special rapporteur on the rights of women in Africa, entered a room at a side event near the United Nations to speak about financing for safe abortion, she was pleasantly surprised to see a packed house.
“Wow, that’s a lot of interest,” she remembers telling herself. However, she quickly realized not everyone in the room was interested in what she had to say. “I didn't realize that was the interest on the opposite side,” she recalled.
After opening statements, many women, who she said appeared coordinated, started making statements and asking questions about protecting children’s lives and why the focus was not on prosecuting perpetrators of rape. The occurrence seemed orchestrated and not done to hold a dialogue, but rather to disrupt discussions, said Sallah-Njie, who is also a member of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights.
About the author
Stéphanie Fillion
Stéphanie Fillion is a New York-based reporter specializing in foreign affairs and human rights and a United Nations resident correspondent. Her work has been featured in outlets such as Forbes Magazine, Foreign Policy, CNN, among others. She has a master's degree in Journalism, Politics, and Global Affairs from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from McGill University. In recent years, her U.N. coverage received two U.N. Correspondent Association awards as well as a Gracie award from the Alliance for Women in Media.
