Women's empowerment in Chad

According to the 2019 Human Development Report, Chad ranks 187th out of 189 countries in the Human Development Index. Also, according to the 2018-2019 survey on household consumption and the informal sector in Chad, 42.31% of Chadians, or
6.5 million people live below the national poverty line.

Women face specific challenges related to their gender. On average, women represent 101% of the student population enrolled in school. They also have limited access to vocational training. Finally, social norms restrict women's physical mobility and, consequently, their access to economic opportunities, full employment, and sufficiently remunerative self-employment. They also face significant difficulties in obtaining loans to start, operate, and develop a business.

All these issues are present in N'Djamena, the capital of Chad. This is why the French association CFCD and the Chadian association Action for Women in Need and Orphans Victims of AIDS (AFFOV) have been partnered since 2013 to help impoverished women in Chad. A first project to combat violence against women, entitled “Women, Let's Respect Them,” was carried out from 2013 to 2021 in nine neighborhoods of N'Djamena. A new project is currently at the heart of the partnership: empowering 30 women in N'Djamena by training them and giving them access to income-generating activities. An awareness-raising phase on women's empowerment is also planned to combat the social norms that weigh on women, particularly in the workplace.