Female Presidential Candidate Brings Hope in Senegal

Female Presidential Candidate Brings Hope in Senegal

　　Senegal's only female presidential candidate may have little chance of winning Sunday's election, but activists² say her presence alone is important. They argue that the candidacy of Anta Babacar Ngom is helping³ create gender⁴ equality in the West African nation.

　　Ngom is a 40-year-old business executive who runs her family's food company. She has made the economy a center of her campaign. Economic difficulty has driven thousands of Senegalese on sometimes dangerous travel in search of a better life outside Africa.

　　Ngom appears to be a voice for both women and young people - groups hard hit by unemployment and rising prices. She has promised to create millions of jobs and a bank for women. She says such actions will help women gain economic independence.

　　She told The Associated Press, "The young girls I meet ask for my support. They do so because they know that when a woman comes to power, she will put an end to their suffering. I'm not going to forget them."

　　Ngom is the first female candidate to run for president in over 10 years. Few expect her to win. But activists say her candidacy demonstrates how women are moving ahead in the struggle for equality.

　　"We have to be there, even if we don't stand a chance," said Selly Ba, an activist¹ and sociologist⁵. "We don't stand a chance in these elections. But it's important that we have women candidates, women who are in the race."

　　Senegal had its first female prime minister in 2001. And in 2010, a law that required all political parties to introduce gender parity⁶ in elections helped increase female involvement in politics.

　　"Women's rights have evolved at the political level over the last 10 years and particularly since the gender parity law came into force," said Bousso Sambe, a former parliamentarian.

　　In 2012, two women ran for president, and while they earned less than one percent of the vote each, experts say their participation⁷ was important. Women in Senegal now make up more than 40 percent of parliament, one of the highest levels of representation in Africa.

　　Ngom told the AP, "Women must be able to express themselves without hindrance⁸, while preserving our cultural identity and valuing the traditional values that have shaped our society."

　　Ngom's supporters say they are proud to back a female candidate and hopeful for a change in the next government.

　　"Our children are dying at sea because of unemployment and job insecurity," activist Aicha Ba said at a recent demonstration⁹.

　　She added: "Women are tired."

　　Words in This Story

　　evolve - v. to change or develop slowly

　　parity - n. the state of being equal

　　hindrance - n. thing that makes a situation difficult

　　preserve - v. keep something in its original state

1 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

2 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

5 sociologist   

n.研究社会学的人，社会学家

参考例句：

• His mother was a sociologist,researching socialism.他的母亲是个社会学家，研究社会主义。
• Max Weber is a great and outstanding sociologist.马克斯·韦伯是一位伟大的、杰出的社会学家。

6 parity   

n.平价，等价，比价，对等

参考例句：

• The two currencies have now reached parity.这两种货币现已达到同等价值。
• Women have yet to achieve wage or occupational parity in many fields.女性在很多领域还没能争取到薪金、职位方面的平等。

7 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

8 hindrance   

n.妨碍，障碍

参考例句：

• Now they can construct tunnel systems without hindrance.现在他们可以顺利地建造隧道系统了。
• The heavy baggage was a great hindrance to me.那件行李成了我的大累赘。

9 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。