Antoinette Bas-devant-Sangoy

A Congolese educator and advocate who pioneered women’s education in French Equatorial Africa during the colonial era.

Antoinette Bas-devant-Sangoy (1910–1990) was a Congolese pioneer in women’s education, defying colonial and patriarchal barriers to establish schools for girls in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Born in the town of Mbandaka, she faced resistance from both French colonial authorities and local elites who opposed women’s literacy. Despite this, she co-founded the École Normale Supérieure de Yaoundé》 in 1946, one of the first institutions in Central Africa to train female teachers.

Bas-devant-Sangoy’s work extended beyond education. She co-authored the 1950 report 《The Role of Women in Post-War Reconstruction》, which pressured colonial governments to fund girls’ schools. Her advocacy led to the creation of the Association des Femmes Cultivatrices du Congo Belge》, empowering rural women through agricultural training and literacy programs. Though overshadowed by male nationalist leaders, her efforts laid the foundation for Congo’s post-independence education reforms.

Today, Bas-devant-Sangoy is remembered in academic circles for her essays on gender and colonialism, such as 《Women’s Education: A Key to African Development》. Her legacy is preserved in the National Archive of the DRC》, where her correspondence with African feminists like Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti reveals her transnational advocacy. Modern scholars cite her as an early example of African women’s leadership in education systems.