When Malians queue to cast ballots in presidential elections on Sunday, they will be participating in a poll with a difference: for the first time ever, a woman will be among the candidates. Sidibé Aminata Diallo is representing the Movement for Environmental Education and Sustainable Development.

With just a day to go before Africa’s first-ever World Social Forum (WSF) gets under way in Mali, attitudes towards the meeting appear somewhat mixed in the West African country. Some expect just to hear ”the same speeches”, while others want to ”show the world’s leading powers that their policies are unfair”.