The dismissal of Ms. Sandy François from her position as Director General of the Ministry for the Status of Women and Women's Rights (MCFDF) in Haiti has sparked strong protests from feminist organizations. It should be noted that Ms. François was a long-serving figure at the ministry with over 28 years of experience as a senior official and was appointed Director General in July 2024 by former Minister Marie Françoise Suzán.

Ms. Sandy François will be replaced by Mr. Hémanex Gonzague Désir, who has been appointed to assume the role of Director General at the Ministry for the Status of Women. It is worth noting that Hémanex Gonzague Désir is not new to the institution. He had already served as interim Director General for a year and a half before Sandy François's appointment in July 2024.

The appointment of a man, instead of a woman, to head this specific ministry has sparked strong criticism from numerous feminist organizations, such as Platfòm Fanm Angaje pou Ayiti, which denounces this choice as a step backward for women's representation in the upper echelons of the Haitian state, and Nègès Mawon, which, along with more than a dozen other feminist organizations, signed a statement of condemnation on May 9, 2026.

"We, feminist organizations, women's organizations, and individuals committed to defending women's rights, condemn the decision of Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé to dismiss Ms. Sandy François, a career executive with nearly thirty years of experience within the Ministry for the Status of Women, from the position of Director General, to be replaced by Mr. Hermanex Gonzague Désir.

It should be noted that the number of women holding senior management positions has now fallen to only three out of a total of eighteen ministries, a situation far below the constitutional guarantees of equality and the minimum quota of 30% women in the civil service, as stipulated by the Haitian Constitution [...]"

Although Minister Pedrica Saint-Jean has not issued a statement on the reasons for this dismissal, it appears to be part of a wave of replacements of Directors General in several ministries under the Fils-Aimé government. In addition to the Ministry of Women, Family and Women's Rights (MCFDF), other ministries such as National Education and the Interior have also seen their leadership change during the same period.

This lack of an official explanation fuels criticism from allies of the feminist cause, who speak of a "systemic patriarchy" within the very institutions meant to protect their rights, and whose motives may be political.

S/ HaitiLibre