Sylvie Tougouma
Burkina Faso

Sylvie Tougouma is one of two women representing Burkina Faso in the 2014 Washington Fellowship program. Sylvie has a master’s degree in public law from the University of Ouagadougou. She is currently working on her master’s thesis in legal translation while teaching law part time at the Gabriel Taborin Technical Secondary School. She has worked with the World March of Women/Burkina Faso section (WMW/BF) on its three objectives: fighting violence against women and girls, fighting against the feminization of poverty, and the promotion of peace. She was the manager of a project focused on promoting woman’s political participation in democratic life in Burkina Faso, funded by the Australian Cooperation. She also worked as an investigator into knowledge, attitudes and practices concerning female genital mutilation for the German Technical Cooperation. She is a facilitator of Tylay (non-formal group training based on personal assessment and skills development) for the CORADE Agency, a company which specializes in training and counseling youth and adults in Ouagadougou. In addition, Sylvie loves singing, listening to music and performing poetry. She is a member of the English club at the University of Ouagadougou and the Female Student Association. She regularly performs her poetry at English club meetings. Sylvie strongly believes that women’s empowerment is the key factor in the development of Burkina Faso. She hopes to help her country by promoting the enhancement of women’s engagement in politics through Tylay and additional leadership training.