You can help expand this article with text translated from
the corresponding article in French. (September 2017) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
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]