They are doctors, scientists, environmental activists. Although little known to the general public, their actions change the lives of thousands of people every day. On International Women’s Day, ANA has decided to put the spotlight on 10 profiles of women, real-life heroines.
By the editorial staff
Maha Abdelhamid, a pioneer in defending black people in Tunisia
Maha Abdelhamid, a French-Tunisian academic, founded, in 2012, the ADAM for Equality and Development, the first association to defend black people in Tunisia. It is a fight that has particular resonance today in Tunisia, where sub-Saharan migrants face discrimination.
Born in Gabès, in the south of Tunisia, where she grew up and studied until 1996, when she moved to the capital to continue her university studies, Maha Abdelhamid is a historian and geographer by training. A researcher associated with the Arab Centre for Research and Political Studies, she is sensitive to the discrimination suffered by her own people, the black Tunisians, and has campaigned for equality and the defense of black people in her country from an early age. A pioneer in this field, she co-founded, in 2012, ADAM, the first association for the defense of black people in Tunisia.
« Black women in Tunisia still live in a patriarchal and racist society »
As a member of the Committee for the Respect of Human Rights and Freedoms in Tunisia (CRLDHT), she has also been involved in organizing several actions in Tunisia, such as the caravan of demonstrators against racism from Djerba to Tunis in 2014.
In 2020, disappointed by the exclusion and invisibility of black women in Tunisia and even in the feminist space, Maha Abdelhamid became indignant and told the media: « Black women in Tunisia still live in a society that is both patriarchal and racist ». On January 23 of that year, a symbolic date that corresponds to the abolition of slavery in Tunisia in 1846, she and other activists launched the first black Tunisian women’s movement, “Voix des femmes tunisiennes noires,” whose aim was to encourage black Tunisian women to assert themselves and escape the invisibility imposed on them by society.
She recounts this commitment in the documentary « De Arram à Gabès, mémoire d’une famille noire, » which traces the life of her family over three generations.
Bintou Doumbia, passionate nurse
A nurse for more than 20 years, Bintou has turned to socio-aesthetics to help cancer patients regain their self-confidence through a series of treatments and tools, including making wigs with their own hair.
« 50% of healing is mental, » says Bintou Doumbia. Medicine now recognizes that beauty care helps to keep morale high and to find the strength to fight illness. Hair and skin are symbols of strength, power, seduction, cultural and social belonging. « Health workers tend to play down self-esteem because they don’t have time. But even five minutes is important! This is Bintou Doumbia’s fight.
As a nurse for 20 years in France, especially in emergency departments, she has seen many patients come and go. Especially cancer victims. « I am a woman who loves her hair, who takes care of it, who often changes her hairstyle. My patients often tell me this. Cancer patients in particular tell me: « I also had beautiful hair before chemotherapy ».
When she sees a 16-year-old girl wearing an inappropriate wig and a sick colleague who refuses to wear the wig offered by her colleagues, she understands. « Those wigs were not suitable. They don’t look like her. Hence the rejection. So, I sat down and asked myself: « What can we do for these cancer patients who didn’t ask for it? I decided to wear wigs from time to time. Not them.”
« If they feel better, they will get better »
She then decided to retrain as a social aesthetician and in 2014 founded the PHAWOP association, which provides care and advice to victims in their quest for self-esteem. « 1,500 euros to buy a wig is not accessible to everyone. And what if the wig is not suitable? We, with their consent of course, recover the hair of patients who are victims of the side effects of chemotherapy, and we make wigs that are undetectable to the naked eye, designed by hand, one by one, on a more suitable tulle. They can be kept for life. It takes one and a half months of work. The price, 1,500 euros, is paid not by the patients but by the sponsors. The patients only pay 30%, or 300 to 400 euros, depending on their budget, » she says.
The association, which also looks after the wigs, offers other initiatives along the same lines. « If they feel better, they will get better. In the hospital, 14 needs are identified, including drinking, eating and breathing. If one of these needs is disturbed, we take action. We do the same with the association. In terms of self-esteem. To help people re-appropriate their body, to restore it, with the tools of socio-aesthetics. We also offer patients and their families moments of relaxation and the opportunity to unload their emotional baggage. Returning to active life after a year or more of illness is also important.”
There are two main activities each year: Christmas of the Angels, when Bintou Doumbia’s association goes to hospitals to offer wellness treatments to the nursing staff. And on 8 March, members are invited to a wellness day at the Mama Bally SPA. « We start with a training session on self-care and cervical screening. Then, after the care we give them, they leave with gifts from our partners, Uriage and Orange Money,” says the nurse. » She recalls that « a woman needs 600 euros a month for hair care to alleviate the effects of chemotherapy ».
Djamilla Touré: the voice of African women in Canada
With Sayaspora, an online platform for women of the diaspora, Djamilla Touré has created a speech community for African women living in Canada.
In September 2022, Djamilla Touré launched the Sayaspora online platform. It all started with a lack of communication about African women living in Canada.
Djamilla remembers the moment she realized she was black. Although she knew it well, she did not realize what it meant until she left Côte d’Ivoire, where she was born, for Morocco, where her skin was already beginning to stand out. Suddenly, being black meant being different. « I understood the weight that society attached to being a black woman and that I had to walk differently in this world, » she likes to tell the press. As an uprooted black teenager from the African diaspora, she was desperate to find someone to talk to about her experiences. She watched shows and searched the media, but when she saw black women on TV, she never seemed to identify herself with them.
« Sharing stories »
Djamilla Toure finally found what she was looking for, only when she moved to Montreal for university, by meeting other students who had moved from West African countries. « I missed you all my life. Where have you been? » she cries. It was through these conversations, especially with other black women, that she realized she was not the only one experiencing this void.
This led her to create Sayaspora, an online platform designed by and for women of the African diaspora, where they can write essays and share stories.
« Integrating African women into the Canadian labor market is Sayaspora’s next goal”
Since then, Sayaspora has grown to bring together African women in Montreal for events and workshops. One of the projects aims to help African women enter the Canadian labor market.
Kadiatou Konaté: Standing against GBV in Guinea
At just 19 years old, this Guinean activist is the co-founder of the “Club des jeunes filles leaders,” which fights gender-based violence (GBV) in Guinea.
Kadiatou Konaté is only 19, but she already knows what she wants to do with her life. And she has chosen her fight. The Guinean activist co-founded the “Club des jeunes filles leaders de Guinée,” which has more than 500 members across the country and aims to fight GBV, especially against girls. She is also a member of the ad hoc committee for the establishment of the National Youth Council with her country’s Prime Minister and the representative of the United Nations system.
For more than four years, Kadiatou and her organization have been campaigning for the elimination of child marriage, rape, excision, physical aggression and discrimination through denunciations, educational talks, mass sensitization, digital campaigns and community discussions to influence the community at grassroots level alongside the state, institutions and other young activists at national and internet level.
« Her activism has earned her several awards, including the Firawa Group’s award for best female activist in Guinea”
Winner of the All Africa Women’s Leadership Award, she also received the Best Female Activist in Guinea Award from the Firawa Group, represented Guinea at the 2018 African GIMA conference, and participated in the African Girls’ Summit on early marriage and girls’ education held by the African Union and partners in Accra.
Hadiatou Diallo Barry: Fighting for women’s financial independence
A banking professional with more than fifteen years’ experience in the African banking sector, Hadiatou Barry has developed a strong expertise in financial inclusion and support for women and VSEs/SMEs throughout her career. Today, she is helping African women to create their own wealth.
Having worked in the largest pan-African banks (Ecobank, UBA, Nsia Bank), she has risen through the ranks from Treasury Product Sales Manager to General Manager. During her career, she realized that banking products and services were not really adapted to the needs of the most vulnerable population (women and youth). She therefore decided to leave her position as General Manager to create the AKIBA Finance Group, the first digital microfinance institution in Guinea.
« Through AKIBA Finance, Hadiatou aims at empowerment and financial independence of more than 1,000,000 women by 2025 »
Through AKIBA Finance, Hadiatou aims to empower more than 1,000,000 women to achieve financial independence by 2025. After only one year of activity, despite the context of COVID 19, AKIBA can be proud to have impacted more than 30,000 women who have gained access to savings accounts through digital tontines, financial education and microfinance through their simple savings.
Hadiatou is convinced that one of the sure ways to positively change the future of African women is to empower them, especially financially, by facilitating their access to savings and appropriate financing.
She is also committed to the education of young girls through her association « Let Girls Shine », which she founded in 2016. Hadiatou is a graduate of ICN Business School in France. She also holds a certificate in leadership and management from HEC Paris.
Nisreen Elsaim: Sudanese leading figure in the fight against climate change
Born in Sudan, Nisreen Elsaim has a degree in physics. At 27, she is already a leading figure among young Africans.
Nisreen Elsaim has been an environmental activist for 10 years and is very passionate about climate issues. Coming from a country that suffers from the negative effects of climate change, she has been an activist on climate issues since 2012. And her commitment is finally being recognized globally. In August 2020, she was appointed chair of the UN Secretary-General’s Youth Advisory Group on Climate and Security.
In this position, the young woman participates in the largest panels that bring together heads of state, ministers and UN officials who are much older than her. But she stands out for her positions on the pressing issue of climate change.
“Her struggle dates back to 2012, when her country, Sudan, became one of the most vulnerable to climate change”
With a Bachelor’s degree in Physics and a Master’s degree in Renewable Energy from the University of Khartoum, Nisreen became actively involved in sustainable development in 2012. This is because her country, Sudan, is ranked as one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change and is experiencing several harms of climate change, including increased frequency of droughts, high variability of rainfall that threatens agriculture and livelihoods for pastoralists. These include increased frequency of droughts, high variability of rainfall that threatens agriculture and pastoral livelihoods, and health problems related to pollution, epidemics, overexploitation of soils and waterways, and food insecurity.
During her university studies, the young Sudanese woman became active in various organizations working on climate and security issues in Africa. She has made her voice heard on the issue, sounding the alarm on the urgency of climate change awareness and the need for concrete action.
She is a member of Youth Environment Sudan (YES), an organization that brings together more than 1,000 environmental associations in Sudan and of which she is the national coordinator.
Because of her commitment to climate change, Nisreen Elsaim was also appointed co-chair of the Sudanese Youth for Climate Change (SYOCC). She will later lead the African Conference of Youth (COY Africa). The young activist is also an active member of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance, a coalition of over 1,000 organizations from 48 African countries working together to address the climate and environmental challenges facing humanity and the planet.
In 2019, Nisreen Elsaim was appointed as one of the 30 UN Special Envoys for Youth. In the same year, she organized the Youth Climate Summit. In 2020, she was named one of the 100 most influential young people in the world at the Africa Youth Awards.
Nafissatou Idé Sadou: a leading figure in defense and promotion of women’s rights
Nafissatou Idé Sadou has been fighting for a decade for women to take their rightful place in Niger’s development.
Nafissatou Idé Sadou, who heads Femmes, Actions et Développement (FAD-Niger), a women’s NGO she founded in 2009, works in the fields of women’s rights, violence against women, health and the environment.
« Women are under-represented and we have trained women candidates for local elections to increase participation”
Nafissatou Idé Sadou, who graduated from the University of Niamey in 2014 with a master’s degree in psychology, has mentored 151 young girls in Niger to promote their leadership and participation in conflict management and prevention. This commitment has earned her a place in the African Union’s database as an international observer. She will focus her NGO’s activities on women’s participation in elections. « Women are under-represented and we wanted to train women candidates for local elections to increase their participation, » says the president of the NGO FAD-Niger.
« Nigerian women have exceptional qualities, and it is these qualities that we want them to understand through our actions, » she argues. This position has been recognized by a number of awards in Niger and in Africa. One of these is the « Emerging Woman Leader » trophy awarded to her by the International Trophy of Active Women of Africa and the CIPEL group. This award was presented in Niamey on International Women’s Day 2012 for her commitment to women’s issues in Niger and inf major international meetings.
At the age of 33, Nafissatou Idé Sadou launched a project through her NGO to help preserve the ecosystems of the Niger River, fight land degradation and reduce poverty by harvesting and processing water hyacinth. Once again, women living along the Niger River are at the heart of the FAD-Niger project.
Easter Okech and Jane Kihungi: Kenyan icons in the fight for the inclusion of women with disabilities
They run NGOs that have chosen to promote the rights of women with disabilities that have been slow to be recognized by Kenyan society.
Easter Okech is the executive director of Kefeado, an organization that fights violence against women and focuses on empowerment. She considers herself a feminist and explains: « As African feminists say, no one is free until all women and girls are free. We work so that girls learn about themselves and when they become young women, they have the power to do whatever they want.”
« Women with disabilities have equal opportunities »
Jane Kihungi runs Women Challenged to Challenge, an organization that promotes the participation of women with disabilities in all aspects of Kenya’s social, economic, political and cultural life. She herself is disabled as a result of polio. « I wanted future women with disabilities not to have to go through what I had to go through. We needed to bring women together to talk about the issues that affect them. They should have equal opportunities.”
With HI, Jane and her organization have documented best practice in the fight against gender-based violence and enabled the organization to go international.
Nunu Salufa: Women’s entrepreneurship in South Kivu
Her association has made this its mission. This mission includes strict compliance with the rules of good governance in business.
As head of the Association for the Promotion of Female Entrepreneurship in South Kivu, Nunu Salufa trains women in the principles of good governance in entrepreneurship. Through these trainings, Nunu Salufa aims to empower women.
« We give technical training to women in South Kivu. They learn a trade that will increase their low income, » explains the APEF coordinator. It is also a way of boosting their self-esteem, because their contribution to the well-being of the whole family makes them stronger. The most important thing for us is that these women feel that they have power in society, that what they think and what they do can change the history of the Congo. Our training prepares women to fight the violence that is perpetrated against them, » says the DR Congolese feminist activist.
« Integral education of women is surest way to the development of a nation”
« To educate a woman is to educate a nation, » she says, convinced that « the integral education of women is a key to participation in management, economic emancipation, in short, a way to develop a nation. Nunu Salufa says APEF trains young girls in entrepreneurship, hygiene, peace-building and many other areas.
The 59-year-old, who is married with three children, worked for several years for an NGO called “Union de femmes paysannes du Kivu” (UWAKI), which aimed to reduce the workload of women farmers through popular education.
In the context of the deteriorating socio-economic and political situation in the DRC, Nunu Salufa was prompted to carry out a study on the situation of women in the province of South Kivu. This led to the creation of APEF, of which she is now the Executive Secretary.
She has a wealth of experience in working with women, but also in the field of credit management, associative groups and micro-enterprises.
Olive Gandonou Adjéhi, from banking to social work for women’s dignity
Olive Gandonou Adjéhi, from Côte d’Ivoire, is not well known, but she is working to raise awareness of endometriosis. She is one of those African women, Afro-optimists, who have decided to fight for the dignity of African women.
Olive Sonagnon Gandonou is a ball of energy. Not very tall, she is very beautiful and her voice is soft. Behind her enthusiasm is a life story that she shares with the women of Côte d’Ivoire. Now a motivational speaker, personal development coach and entrepreneurship trainer, the mother of two has reluctantly left the comfort of a bank office for the streets and markets.
It is in these places, where she organizes endometriosis awareness walks, that the former banker lives out her social commitment. She is bringing to light a terrible affliction of women, a silent disease that can thwart the future of young girls on the continent.
« I did not have a happy adolescence”
Olive, who had dropped out of school because of the disease, would spend five to six years navigating the medical system that would lead her to the doctor’s office. As a shopkeeper on the Noé-Abidjan line and a phone booth manager, Olive still found the strength to keep her eyes on her education. When she became pregnant, she enrolled in a top school. But the pain of the illness is strong. « I didn’t go to school for two years, I didn’t have high school diploma, I didn’t have a happy adolescence, I just asked for Antadys, a painkiller, » she says. Not to be outdone, she went back to school for the BTS, but failed!
When she had her first operation in 1999, she thought it was over. Not at all. In February 2002, she experienced the joy of pregnancy. Life is difficult without being able to make her crack. She finally obtained her BTS (Brevet de Technicienne Supérieure) as an independent candidate. After a successful internship at the Caisse Nationale de Crédit et d’Epargne (CNCE), now Banque Populaire, she was hired. Olive rose through the ranks to become head of the Yamoussoukro branch. She worked well, refused to use cheap shots to break a staff strike, but still suffered from endometriosis. Although she receives treatment thanks to the insurance offered by her bank, she resigned in 2018 to take better care of herself and to speak out on behalf of women and young girls facing this devastating disease.
Endometriosis, from which she has suffered for 28 years, will be a source of motivation for her to save young girls, women who often suffer in silence because they are unaware of the disease. She wanted to be the Good Samaritan to save them from the « suffering caused by ignorance and medical wandering ».
Therefore, she founded Endo Women Africa, an NGO dedicated to raising awareness of endometriosis. Her guiding principle is to « bring joy to those around her », and she wants to boost women’s self-esteem by providing an appropriate framework, especially for women suffering from endometriosis.
« Creating conditions for their empowerment”
« This commitment stems from the fact that in our societies, unfortunately, we meet women who are oppressed, marginalized, and even those who are in good health have problems that they are unable to disclose. African women, despite their qualities, still have a lot to do, especially in rural areas, where they are is misunderstood, left to their own devices and without financial resources. The idea came to me to create the conditions for their empowerment, » says Olive.
« This commitment costs me financially, physically and psychologically, because to carry out these activities I have to suspend my personal commitments in order to be present where endometriosis is discussed. The NGO has no partners, sponsors or grants, so we work with our meagre resources. I sometimes have crises because I am still a victim of the disease, I am forced to take breaks, but even in these periods we must be able to be at the bedside of women, not physically, but we must be able to talk to them throughout the continent.”
« Women in Africa do not have the financial means to deal with this disease”
She acknowledged that « women in Africa do not have the financial means to deal with this disease. Only 10 to 20 per cent of women in companies or in high positions are treated. Reproductive products are not included in insurance vouchers, nor are tests. For women in rural areas, it is a crossroads to afford painkillers.”
The reality in Côte d’Ivoire is no different from other countries. Olive says: « Women in Côte d’Ivoire do not necessarily have the means to treat themselves properly. In Côte d’Ivoire, it is estimated that 30 to 40% of women are affected by endometriosis, but the paradox is that a higher percentage suffer and are unaware of it. It is difficult because they do not know what they are suffering from because the disease is not well known. In rural areas, illiteracy exacerbates the ignorance factor. It is this ignorance that we are fighting. They equate it with witchcraft, with mystical practices. »
« We must be able to break out of silence”
« There is hope in the face of endometriosis, we must be able to break out of silence. If we don’t talk about it, how can people help us?
