Hadjira Oumouri (born 1969) is a Comorian politician and
midwife
A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery.
The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...
. She served from 2015 to 2020 in the Assembly of the Union of the Comoros, becoming the second woman elected to the body in the country's history.
Early life and education
Hadjira Oumouri was born in 1969 in Foumbouni, a town on the island of
Grande Comore
Grande Comore () is an island in Comoros off the coast of Africa. It is the largest island in the Comoros nation. Most of its population is of the Comorian ethnic group. Its population is about 316,600. The island's capital is Moroni, Comoros, ...
in the
Comoros
The Comoros,, ' officially the Union of the Comoros,; ar, الاتحاد القمري ' is an independent country made up of three islands in southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. It ...
. Her father, Mze Oumouri Wa Moindze, was a prominent scholar of the history of Grande Comore.
After finishing high school, Oumouri trained as a midwife in Moroni and
Mauritius
Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...
.
Career
Women's health and rights
Oumouri was recruited in 1995 to work in family planning for the United Nations Population Fund in the Mbadjini region of Grande Comore, eventually becoming director of the NGO ASCOBEF from 2001 to 2014.
She also became involved in women's rights activism, including through the organization L'Réseau National Femmes et Développement. She also founded the women's association Femme en Mouvement in the Mbadjini region.
Politics
The former midwife eventually became more directly involved in local politics in her commune, , aiming to represent women in the country's largely male-dominated political scene. She was appointed mayor of the commune from 2012 to 2014.
After seven years with the RIDJA party (Rassemblement pour une Initiative de Développement avec une Jeunesse Avertie) she joined the
Democratic Rally of the Comoros
The Democratic Rally of the Comoros (french: Rassemblement Démocratique des Comores, RDC) is a political party in the Comoros led by Mouigni Baraka, Governor of Grande Comore.
History
The party was established in November 2013. In the 2015 ...
(RDC) ahead of the
2015 Comorian legislative election
Parliamentary elections were held in the Comoros on 25 January 2015, alongside local elections. A second round of voting was held on 22 February in the 21 constituencies where no candidate won in the first round.
As a member of the RDC, she ran to represent Itsahidi in the Assembly of the Union of the Comoros in 2015. She was elected as one of only two members of her party in the legislature, with 64.91% of the vote in her district.
Oumouri was the only woman in the legislature in that session, and only the second female lawmaker elected to the assembly, after
Sittou Raghadat Mohamed
Sittou Raghadat Mohamed (born 6 July 1952) is a Comorian former minister and deputy of the Comoros, and was the first Comorian woman to be appointed to a senior government role, as Secretary of State for Population and the Condition of Women.She ...
.
During her time in the Assembly, Oumouri fought for increased participation of women in politics, passing laws to establish quotas for both appointed and elected officials. She also worked to pass laws on sexual harassment and to oppose violence against women.
As a member of PFPOI, an organization of women politicians in the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
region, she worked with peers in Madagascar and Mauritius.
On becoming one of the few prominent women politicians in her country, Oumouri said:
"To tell the truth, it was not easy. You know, men like for us all to work together, but to take their place is difficult. They don't give up their positions, so you have to go look for them and snatch them."
In 2019, after Oumouri voted in favor of the "enabling law," which gave President
Azali Assoumani
Azali Assoumani ( ar, غزالي عثماني; born 1 January 1959) is a Comorian politician and military officer who has served as President of the Comoros since April 2019. He was also president from 2002 to 2006 and 2016 to February 2019. He ...
expanded powers, she was kicked out of her opposition RDC party. She did not run again in the
2020 Comorian legislative election
Legislative elections were held in the Comoros on 19 January 2020; in constituencies where no candidate received a majority, a second round was held alongside local elections on 23 February. The elections were boycotted by the main opposition par ...
Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros
The Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros (, CRC) is a political party in the Comoros.
History
The CRC was established in September 2002 by members of the Movement for Socialism and Democracy, a group expelled from the Democratic Front. ...