woman cradle of abundance

Congolese Peacemaker follows her father’s lead standing up for women

People used to tell Monique Misenga Mukuna’s father that he did not have children because he had more girls than boys — 11 girls and three boys, to be precise. In many African cultures, including Mukuna’s native Democratic Republic of Congo, women and girls have second-class status, not enjoying many of the advantages of men and boys. Mukuna’s father wasn’t having that.