Farida Bemba Nabourema (born 1990) is a Togolese

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

activist and writer who has fought for democracy in

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

since she was a teenager. When she was 20, she founded the "Faure Must Go" movement, calling for

civil resistance Civil resistance is political action that relies on the use of nonviolent resistance by ordinary people to challenge a particular power, force, policy or regime. Civil resistance operates through appeals to the adversary, pressure and coercion: i ...

in the interests of democracy. Published in 2014, her book of essays ''La Pression de l'Oppression'' (The Pressure of Oppression) encourages resistance from those who are oppressed. In 2017, Nabourema was recognized as "Advocate of the Year (Female)" by the Africa Youth Awards.

Biography

Born on 19 April 1990 in Lomé, Farida Bemba Nabourema completed her school education with the ''

baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...

'' in 2007, after which she studied history at the

University of Lomé The University of Lomé (french: Université de Lomé; abbreviated UL) is the largest university in Togo. Located in the city of Lomé, it was founded in 1970 as University of Benin (french: Université du Bénin) and changed its name to the Unive ...

. She grew up under the oppressive regime of

Gnassingbé Eyadéma Gnassingbé Eyadéma (; born Étienne Gnassingbé, 26 December 1935 – 5 February 2005) was the president of Togo from 1967 until his death in 2005, after which he was immediately succeeded by his son, Faure Gnassingbé. Eyadéma participated i ...

until his death in 2005. He was succeeded by his son, the equally dictatorial Faure Gnassingbé. Farida Nabourema's father, the dissident Bemba Nabourema, was severely tortured in 2003 when she was only 13. As a result, she became a dissident herself. When she was 18, she moved to the United States where she studied international relations at the

American University School of International Service The School of International Service (SIS) is American University's school of advanced international study, covering areas such as international politics, international communication, international development, international economics, peace and conf ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Two years later she founded the "Faure Must Go" movement, organizing opposition to Faure Gnassingbé. It has since become the slogan of Togo's resistance movement. Nabourema has been unable to return to her mother country as her life has been threatened. She now moves from country to country, maintaining her popular blog and calling for opposition to the Faure regime. She recently commented: "When I look at all the sacrifices that were made for us to get this far, from my grandfather's generation to my father's and now to mine, I am filled with gratitude and hope. ... Hope in a Togo where every citizen can aspire to become president without fear of retribution or death."

References

External links

Farida Bemba Nabourema's blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nabourema, Farida 1990 births Living people People from Lomé American University School of International Service alumni Togolese democracy activists Togolese women activists Women human rights activists 21st-century Togolese writers 21st-century Togolese women writers Togolese non-fiction writers University of Lomé alumni