Fatimata Touré is a women's rights activist and the head of the Regional Forum on Reconciliation and Peace in Gao,

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

. She is also the head of Women's Action, Research, Study and Training Group, which works against

fistula A fistula (plural: fistulas or fistulae ; from Latin ''fistula'', "tube, pipe") in anatomy is an abnormal connection between two hollow spaces (technically, two epithelialized surfaces), such as blood vessels, intestines, or other hollow or ...

. During the conflict in the north of Mali in the late 1990s, Touré and her colleagues at the Association of Women for Peace and Development persuaded the Touareg rebels to attend ceasefire talks, resulting in discussions and some localized ceasefires. Touré was recognized for her peace work by her inclusion as one of the 1000 Peace Women, a group nomination of 1000 women peace makers for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize. During the 2012 and 2013 occupation of Mali, she helped fistula patients relocate and find medical help after a hospital in Gao was attacked, as well as giving care and shelter to those forced into marriages or raped. She also publicly spoke out against gender-based violence. She documented the violence that was occurring, even as her own home was attacked. She received a 2014

International Women of Courage The International Women of Courage Award, also referred to as the U.S. Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award, is an American award presented annually by the United States Department of State to women around the world who have ...

award.

Samantha Power Samantha Jane Power (born September 21, 1970) is an American journalist, diplomat and government official who is currently serving as the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development. She previously served as the 28th ...

, as America's Ambassador to the United Nations, mentioned her in a speech she gave in Mali in 2014.

References

Malian women activists Living people Malian women's rights activists Year of birth missing (living people) People from Gao Recipients of the International Women of Courage Award 21st-century Malian people {{Feminism-activist-stub