Jezebel: Ivory Coast

Music And Passion, Always In Fashion

Anna Holmes — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 15:10:00 EDT

[Rio de Janeiro, June 20. Image via AP]

She Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'

Anna Holmes — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:15:00 EDT

[Krindjabo, Ivory Coast; July 1. Image via Getty]

Yes, She Can Hear You Now

Anna Holmes — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:10:00 EDT

[Abidjan, Ivory Coast; June 23. Image via Getty]

Elder Stateswoman

Anna Holmes — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 15:10:00 EDT

[Koute, Ivory Coast. June 4. Image via Getty]

Cocoa Couture: Ivory Coast Designer Works Sackcloth Style

Sadie Stein — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:40:00 EDT

Ivorian fashion designer Felicite Mai sees the clothes she crafts from jute cocoa bean sacks as a tribute to her father, a tailor-turned-cocoa planter who gave his daughter her first sewing machine. Cocoa is the Ivory Coast's top export, and Mai sources her materials from the warehouses of an Abidjan port. "'Ivory Coast's economy is based on agriculture, especially cocoa and coffee. So I decided to promote these crops by creating these fashion designs," said Mai. "For me, it's a way of drawing the whole world's attention to cocoa and coffee." (Unfortunately, as Reuters also reports today, rising fuel prices in the nation mean less profits for cocoa farmers.) More »

Sexual Abuse By Aid Workers Is Underreported In Developing, Struggling Nations

Jessica G. — Tue, 27 May 2008 09:30:00 EDT

There's no way to sugarcoat or qualify this: news wires are abuzz with reports of widespread abuse of minors by UN peacekeepers and other humanitarian workers in post-conflict nations. According to a report released today by UK nonprofit Save the Children that focuses on the Ivory Coast, Haiti, and southern Sudan, "the perpetrators of sexual abuse of children could be found in every type of humanitarian organization at all levels." In Sudan, "people don't report [sexual abuse] because they are worried that the agency will stop working here, and we need them," a teen says. There are many specific instances of abuse described by the the organization, but the most chilling so far is the story of 'Elizabeth' (pictured above left), a 13-year-old from the Ivory Coast. More »

"Small" Bottoms Are The Least Of Some Women's Problems

Dodai Stewart — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 16:30:00 EST

The hot new dance craze in the Ivory Coast is "Bobaraba," which translates to "Big Bottom." The problem? Some women are worried that their derrieres are not up to par, so they're getting black market injections for more junk in the trunk. Ivorian gynecologist Dr. Marcel Sissoko says the injections might be dangerous, "because we don't know the ingredients. It's being used without a medical prescription. The health ministry hasn't authorized this and doctors don't know what's in there, so there are risks." More »