Agnes Allafi (born January 21, 1959) is a

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

ian politician and sociologist. During her political career, Allafi was the Minister of Social Services two times between the late 1990s to early 2000s.

Background

Allafi's father was an officer in

François Tombalbaye François Tombalbaye ( '; 15 June 1918 – 13 April 1975), also known as N'Garta Tombalbaye, was a Chadian politician who served as the first President of Chad from the country's independence in 1960 until his overthrow in 1975. A dictator ...

's army until 1975, and he was executed on orders of

Hissène Habré Hissène Habré (Arabic: ''Ḥusaīn Ḥabrī'', Chadian Arabic: ; ; 13 August 1942 – 24 August 2021), also spelled Hissen Habré, was a Chadian politician and convicted war criminal who served as the 5th president of Chad from 1982 unt ...

when Habré took control of

N'Djamena N'Djamena ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Chad, largest city of Chad. It is also a Provinces of Chad, special statute region, divided into 10 districts or ''arrondissements'', similar to the city of Paris. Originally calle ...

in October 1982. Shortly after Habré took power, Allafi's husband was killed by Habré's secret police. After the death of her husband, Allafi fled to

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

with her family.

Education

In 1980, Allafi obtained her

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

Bongor Bongor () is a city in Chad, the capital of the regions of Chad, region of Mayo-Kebbi Est. It is located on the eastern bank of the Logone River. During the rainy season (May–September), the Logone is navigable between Bongor and N'Djamena, Chad' ...

. Upon graduation, Allafi became a teacher from 1981 to 1982. After moving to

Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

in 1985, Allafi earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in sociology from the

National University of Benin The University of Abomey-Calavi ''()'' is the principal public university in the west African West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of ...

. Her thesis was about the application of article 124 of Benin's constitution, which ensured equal rights for women and men.

Politics

Allafi returned to Chad after the end of Habré's government in 1990 and joined the Provisional Council of the Republic, serving on its Health and Social Services Commission. She also became one of the first female leaders in the

Patriotic Salvation Movement The Patriotic Salvation Movement (, MPS; ) is the ruling political party in Chad. History After Idriss Déby, an army commander who participated in an unsuccessful plot against President Hissène Habré in 1989, fled to Sudan, he and his sup ...

party. Allafi then joined the Ministry of Agriculture in 1992 and continued as a staff member of the government in the early 2000s.

Women's rights

Allafi supported women's rights, and in 1995 she became leader of the Chadian delegation at the Beijing International Conference on Women. From January 1998 to December 1999 and from June 2002 to June 2003, she was Minister of Social Services. Allafi also organized a Chadian women's conference in 1999, created a women's caucus in the parliament of Chad, and created a mock parliament for youths.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allafi, Agnes 1959 births 20th-century Chadian women politicians 20th-century Chadian politicians Women sociologists Living people Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Chadian women politicians 21st-century Chadian politicians