Maternity leave: The 18 weeks have been approved, but RENAFETS now demands they be implemented.

The vote has been secured. Now the reform must be implemented. Meeting this Thursday, September 10th in Dakar, the National Network of Working Women of Senegal (RENAFETS) renewed the pressure on the authorities to expedite the promulgation of the new Labor Code, which notably includes extending maternity leave to 18 weeks.

For RENAFETS, the main obstacle is now clearly identified: promulgation. "We are waiting for promulgation," insisted its president, Fatou Binetou Yaffa, recalling that the text was adopted by the National Assembly on August 18.

But for the women workers, the fight doesn't end with the vote. The network is already looking ahead to the implementation conditions, including the implementing decrees and monitoring mechanisms. "Every time, laws are enacted, but some aren't enforced. This time, we're determined because it's a major achievement for women," insists Fatou Binetou Yaffa.

RENAFETS intends to position itself as a monitoring organization, working alongside the relevant ministries, parliamentarians, labor inspectors, and civil society. A roadmap and concrete proposals are expected to be developed following the workshop.

But another challenge is already emerging: how to enable women to return to work without being forced to choose between their job and their child?

For RENAFETS, the solution also lies in community-based and local childcare centers. The network reports having piloted this approach in two departments, in partnership with local authorities and communities. The goal is to establish facilities that are financially accessible to working women, including those in the informal economy. "A domestic worker can look after her child for 2,000 CFA francs," argues the president of RENAFETS, who now wants to expand this initiative.

On the government side, the principle of enhanced protection is also being emphasized. However, Mame Asta Sanké, the labor and social security inspector representing the Minister of Labor, points out that the 18-week period is not yet applicable, as the new Labor Code has not yet been promulgated.

Once the reform comes into force, several mechanisms must accompany its implementation, including the fight against discrimination, the establishment of a national observatory against discrimination, violence and harassment, as well as the strengthening of the powers of labor inspectors and controllers.

For a woman whose rights are not respected, recourse already exists: she can contact the labor inspectorate. But for RENAFETS, the issue is now broader: to ensure that the 18 weeks of paid leave do not remain a right enshrined in law, but become a right truly experienced by Senegalese working women.