Jeanne Gervais, née Jeanne Ahou Siefer-N’Dri (June 6, 1922 – December 9, 2012) was an Ivorian politician and the first woman minister in Côte d'Ivoire.[1]

Born in Grand-Bassam, Gervais was the daughter of a French father and a Baoulé mother.[2] A longtime member of the Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire – African Democratic Rally,[3] she participated in the women's march in her hometown in 1949.[1] Trained as a teacher at the École normal de Rufisque,[4] she became one of three women, alongside Hortense Aka-Anghui and Gladys Anoma, elected to the National Assembly immediately after independence.[5] She served in that body from 1965 until 1980.[2] In 1976, she was named head of the Ministry of Women's Affairs, remaining in that role until 1984 and becoming the first woman to serve in the Ivorian cabinet.[1] She was also active for many years as president of the Association des Femmes Ivoiriennes.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Cyril K. Daddieh (9 February 2016). Historical Dictionary of Cote d'Ivoire (The Ivory Coast). Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 266–. ISBN 978-0-8108-7389-6.
  2. 1 2 "Jeanne Gervais, première femme ivoirienne ministre tire sa révérence". Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  3. ↑ "rti.ci – Actualité". rti.ci. Archived from the original on 19 March 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  4. ↑ "Germaine Le Goff – L'Africaine blanche (1891-1986)". aflit.arts.uwa.edu.au. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
  5. 1 2 Kathleen E. Sheldon (2005). Historical Dictionary of Women in Sub-Saharan Africa. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-5331-7.


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