Marthe Matongo Explained

Office1:Member of the National Assembly
Term1:1964–1966
Birth Date:30 April 1933
Birth Place:Bambari, Ubangi-Shari

Marthe Matongo (born 30 April 1933) was a Central African social worker, politician and women's rights activist. In 1964 she became the first woman elected to the National Assembly.

Biography

Matongo was born into a Gbanzili family in Bambari in April 1933.[1] [2] Her father Michel was a teacher, and Matongo became one of the first girls in Ubangi-Shari to earn a primary school certificate.[1] She subsequently studied in France and became a social worker.[1] At independence in 1960 her cousin Florence Yagbao became the inaugural First Lady of the Central African Republic.[3]

A member of the Movement for the Social Evolution of Black Africa (MESAN), Matongo was a candidate in the 1964 parliamentary elections. MESAN was the sole legal party and ran unopposed, resulting in Matongo becoming the first woman in the National Assembly.[4] In the same year she was one of the founders of the Union of Central African Women, becoming its secretary general, and broadcast a radio programme Magazine of the Women.[1] The National Assembly was subsequently dissolved in 1966 following the Saint-Sylvestre coup d'état.

Notes and References

  1. Richard Bradshaw & Juan Fandos-Rius (2016) Historical Dictionary of the Central African Republic p434
  2. https://www.centrafriqueledefi.com/pages/biographies-histoire/centrafrique-marthe-matongo-depute.html Marthe Matongo, député
  3. News: Félix . Yepassis-Zembrou . Une grande figure de l'ombre : Mme Florence Yagbaou . Centrafrique le défi . 2020-08-16 . 2023-08-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230808014424/https://www.centrafriqueledefi.com/pages/biographies-histoire/une-grande-figure-de-l-ombre-mme-florence-yagbaou-1.html . 2023-08-08 . live.
  4. Bradshaw & Fandos-Rius, p640