Mama Koité Doumbia
“Sexual and gender-based violence is a real issue in Mali, with women being raped, deprived from their freedom, or used as sex slaves."
Mama Koité Doumbia has made an impressive career in promoting women’s rights and gender-justice-related issues. She continues to fight tirelessly in multiple capacities to reinforce women’s access to justice and empowerment within her home country of Mali as well as across the African continent and in supranational organizations.
With her many roles and rich experience, Mama Koité is well-known nationally and internationally as a union leader, teacher and determined activist for ways to reinforce the capacities of women’s NGOs. To achieve this, she fights passionately against social injustice and violence.
Mama Koité has worked with the Women’s Coordination of Mali, and she was President of the African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET) in Nairobi, Kenya, from 2003 to 2010. She also worked as a member of the Réseau Paix et Sécurité de l’Espace Cedeao-Mali, and is a founding member of the Réseau Francophone Egalité Femmes Hommes.
Mama Koité was a fixture at the Economic and Social Council of the African Union (ECOSOCC) from 2005 to 2014. During that time she served as a member of the Standing Committee, was President of the Sectoral Cluster on Gender and related issues, and finally served as Vice-President of ECOSOCC from 2011. For her work with ECOSOCC in favor of gender equality, Mama Koité received the FAMEDEV Gender Award in 2011.
“Sexual and gender-based violence is a real issue in Mali, with women being raped, deprived from their freedom, or used as sex slaves.International and regional treaties and conventions, particularly Resolution 1325 of the UN Security Council, on women’s rights, peace, and security, are not fully upheld in Mali. Still today women are under-represented within the government. They do not benefit from reconstruction programs and socio-cultural stereotypes hamper their empowerment.”
Mama Koité currently acts as president of the Platform of Women Leaders of Mali; President of the Malian Coalition for the ICC; and Executive Board Member of the Trust Fund for Victims.
Mama Koité has received numerous awards and recognitions for her work on international and gender justice issues, including the National Merit of Mali (Mali, 2004). She was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize (2005) through an initiative called 1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize, which aimed to have the award go to 1000 women as representatives of hundreds of thousands. Mama Koité has also received the Knight of African Merit (Addis Ababa 2007), the International Minerva Prize (Italy 2007) and the Knight of the National Order of Mali (Mali 2007).
