Fatou Sanyang Kinteh also known as Fatou Kinteh is a Gambian politician and women's rights activist. She currently serves as the Gambian minister for women's affairs, children, and social welfare. She also serves as the national coordinator of The Gambia for Gender-Based Violence and Female Genital Mutilation.

Career

Fatou attended the

Gambia High School The Gambia Senior Secondary School (formerly the Gambia High School) is a school in Box Bar Road, Banjul, Gambia, founded by Wesleyan missionaries. It has educated two leaders of Gambia. History The school was founded in 1876 in Dobson Street, Banj ...

in Banjul and studied sociology. She studied history at the

Fourah Bay College Fourah Bay College is a public university in the neighbourhood of Mount Aureol in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Founded on 18 February 1827, it is the first western-style university built in Sub-Saharan Africa and, furthermore, the first university-l ...

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and po ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

graduating with a bachelor's degree. In 1999, she pursued a master's degree at Cardiff University. After returning to the Gambia, she worked for Gambia Family Planning Association (GFPA) for over seven years. She served as a gender lecturer at the

University of the Gambia The University of the Gambia (UTG) is an institution of higher education located in Sere Kunda, the largest city in the Gambia. History The campus was founded in 1998 in Kotu-Kanifing, a suburb of Sere Kunda. It was not until March 1999 that t ...

for a brief period. She also served as a deputy executive director and executive director of the Gambian Women's Bureau. She has worked with the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

for several years especially being affiliated with

United Nations Population Fund The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), formerly the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, is a UN agency aimed at improving reproductive and maternal health worldwide. Its work includes developing national healthcare strategies a ...

(UNPFA) as a Gambian national coordinator in the fight against female genital mutilation. During her stint as the executive director of the Women's Bureau, she initiated the development and implementation of the first gender component of the UNPFA Country Programme in The Gambia. In March 2019, she was appointed as the minister for women's affairs, children and social welfare of The Gambia by the Gambian President

Adama Barrow Adama Barrow ( ff, 𞤀𞥄𞤣𞤢𞤥𞤢 𞤄𞤢𞥄𞤪𞤮, Aadama Baaro, born 15 February 1965) is a Gambian politician and real estate developer who has served as President of the Gambia since 2017. Born in Mankamang Kunda, a village ...

. The ministry for women's affairs, children and social welfare was newly created by the

Government of Gambia Politics of The Gambia takes place within the framework of a presidential republic, whereby the President of The Gambia is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. ...

in 2019 and Fatou Kinteh was appointed as its first minister. After becoming a cabinet minister, Kinteh vowed to pass the Women Enterprise Fund Bill 2020 to support the women entrepreneurs in The Gambia. She also formulated policies and intended to launch a national NO MORE campaign in order to safeguard the women and children from domestic violence and harassment which spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic in The Gambia. She also launched Working Group for Peace Building for West Africa (WGPBWA) Gambia chapter in June 2019. In August 2020, she was tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

. She recovered from the disease in September 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinteh, Fatou Sanyang Living people Gambian feminists Gambian women's rights activists Gambian politicians Gambian women activists Year of birth missing (living people) Alumni of Cardiff University Fourah Bay College alumni