Trained in psychology, anthropology and development studies, Françoise Grange Omokaro conducted research in Indonesia, West Africa and Europe. Working on body and illness, her feminist more than gender perspective allowed her to uncover power relations wherever they could hide.
Her grounded and creative approach to research methods is well illustrated by her latest project “Kick it like a girl! Young Women Push Themselves Through Football in the African Public Space,” funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) within their joint Swiss Programme for Research on Global Issues for Development (r4d Programme). The project focused on the participation of girls in public and social life in contemporary African societies via the examination of women junior football clubs. More and more girls love and play the game, but since it is considered masculine by essence, female players are seen as deviant and they have to struggle in order to take part. Beyond individual motivations, the project tackled the collective and associative aspects of girls’ commitment to play football are crucial to understanding the processes of confronting, interpreting and renegotiating the gender norms and social roles. The novelty of the project in the field of development studies lies both within its object and the research process itself, proposing a renewed gender agenda on participatory forms of citizenship for young women. The preliminary results of this project can be found in the co-authored piece Playing football in Cameroon as a girl: a match for equality (with Beatrice Bertho, Iyama M. Douna & Dominique Malatesta).
The flowers given by the students are a simple but profound tribute to a colleague who has been a pillar of the ANSO Department since its creation in 2008. Françoise is not only a great teacher and scholar, but also a wonderful colleague and an active citizen, fully aware of the moral contribution of people with different abilities to our societies at large. Françoise will be greatly missed not only for her commitment to teaching and research but also for her elegant sense of humour.
