Women Harvest Hope As Extremist Threat Grows In Benin

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Terrorism in the Sahel is destabilising West Africa, with armed groups linked to al‐Qaeda and Islamic State exploiting deep poverty to recruit new fighters. In northern Benin, however, women's cooperatives are turning to the shea tree to build economic opportunities – an initiative supported by Switzerland. This content was published on March 27, 2026 - 09:00 8 minutes Simon Roth

العربية ar مبادرة نسائية لإنتاج زبدة الشيا تفتح آفاقًا لمواجهة الإرهاب في غرب إفريقيا Read more: مبادرة نسائية لإنتاج زبدة الشيا تفتح آفاقًا لمواجهة الإرهاب في غرب إف

The tree towers several metres above the women beneath it. In the midday heat, it provides shade for the group; in dark moments, it offers hope. The women call it“arbre réparateur”, the healing tree. Its leaves are used in traditional medicine. In the Sahel, the shea tree is said to possess magical properties. Hardly any other plant is so versatile.

People make shea butter from the nuts of the shea tree's fruit, which is used as cooking fat or for skincare, and is popular at home and abroad. The fat from its fruit helps to fill hungry stomachs and soothe chapped hands. And 3,600 women in northern Benin also want to use it to help heal rifts in society.

They used to go out to the fields in the early hours of the morning to harvest, so they could carry out the strenuous work in the cool of the morning. Now they wait until daybreak because of reports of strangers wandering the fields.

In northern Benin, militant jihadism is gaining a foothold. Here, just outside Banikoara, fear is increasingly dominating daily life and people are afraid of being driven out of their villages. Unlike in the economic and political heartland in the south of the country, state control is weak.

Last year, extremists carried out several serious attacks on the border area with Burkina Faso and Niger. It was the deadliest year in the fight against terrorist groups in Benin. In a single day, 87 people were killed in a coordinated attack on military bases.

Networking supporting women's independence

The Association des Femmes Vaillantes et Actives (AFVA) [Association of Strong and Active Women], however, wants to create opportunities for local people. The cooperative has existed since 2007 and advocates for women's needs. Its primary objectives are networking, as well as training and further education. Since early 2021, it has been working with the Swiss development organisation Brücke Le Pont on a joint project to empower women in the shea butter sector. In all, 3,600 women living in four communities in northern Benin are involved in the project, organised into 120 cooperatives, each with 30 members.

Brücke Le Pont, based in Fribourg in western Switzerland, has workers based in Benin who support local partners with networking or budget planning. The organisation has worked for many years to assist locally-rooted activities, as set out in the Swiss foreign ministry's international cooperation strategy 2025–2028.

“The cooperative helps women become more independent. With the extra money they earn, they can send their children to school,” AFVA president Mamatou Yacoubou proudly declares from Banikoara.

Networking enables the cooperatives to purchase professional equipment and access credit. Through training, the women learn about managing micro-enterprises, or adhering to production standards in the cultivation and processing of shea nuts.

As a result, yields have increased significantly. So too has the quality of the end product.“Our goods are very popular on the market,” says Yacoubou, even though their products cost more. Quality comes with a price.

Benin: from a pillar of stability to a frontline country

It's a successful initiative in a region marked by poverty, and the women's organisation is advocating for change. In northern Benin, unemployment is widespread, particularly among young people. The work of the 3,600 women therefore makes a significant contribution to household income.

This is also well received by the men. The tree just outside Banikoara, under which the women gather, was offered to the cooperative by a local man.“The village benefits from this project. It strengthens solidarity, and that is almost more important than money,” says an elderly man.

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