Moussoumakan "Inna" Sissoko Cissé, (née Sissoko, December 11, 1933 in

Macina, Mali Macina (also Ké Macina and Massina) is a small town and rural commune in the Cercle of Macina in the Ségou Region of southern-central Mali. The commune covers an area of 1,100 square kilometers and contains the main town and 20 villages.. In ...

), is a Malian politician, nurse, and social worker who served as Secretary of State for Social Affairs (''secrétaire d’Etat aux Affaires sociales'') from 1968 to 1972. She was the first woman to be a member of Mali's government.

Biography

Inna Sissoko was born into a family of teachers. She went to school in

Ségou Ségou (; bm, ߛߋߓߎ, italic=no, ) is a town and an urban commune in south-central Mali that lies northeast of Bamako on the right bank of the River Niger. The town is the capital of the Ségou Cercle and the Ségou Region. With 130,690 ...

and

Bamako Bamako ( bm, ߓߡߊ߬ߞߐ߬ ''Bàmakɔ̌'', ff, 𞤄𞤢𞤥𞤢𞤳𞤮 ''Bamako'') is the capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2009 population of 1,810,366 and an estimated 2022 population of 2.81 million. It is located on the Niger Rive ...

. En 1953, she began working as an assistant teacher. She then studied nursing from 1957 to 1959 in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from :wo:daqaar, daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar ...

. In 1959, she moved to Paris and worked as a social worker until 1962, then became a teacher of social work. She attended the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

and graduated in 1967 with a degree in social sciences. Although Sissoko did not belong to the governing party, Sudanese Union – African Democratic Rally, she was selected as Secretary of State for Social Affairs after the

1968 Malian coup d'état The 1968 Malian coup d'état was a bloodless military coup in Mali staged on 19 November 1968 against the government of President Modibo Keïta. The coup was led by Lieutenant (later Major General) Moussa Traoré, who then became the head of state ...

, making her Mali's first female member of government. She held this position until 1972, when the management of social affairs was taken over by the Ministry of Health. Beginning in 1985, she worked as an advisor for the Ministry of Labour and Civil Service (''ministère du Travail et de la Fonction publique''). In 1971, she launched Mali's first campaign for

sex education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, sexual activity, sexual reproduc ...

and family planning. As a result, Moussa Traoré's military government ended the colonial-era ban on

contraception Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...

; Mali was the first Francophone country in Africa to take this measure. Sissoko was a advocate of women's organizations, and supported the founding of the National Association of Malian Women (''l'Association nationale des femmes du Mali'') in 1974. Inna Sissoko is a Muslim. She previously married and divorced professor Django Cissé. She has adopted children. Sissoko was the first woman named a Grand Officer of the

National Order of Mali The National Order of Mali is the highest of honorific orders of Mali. History The National Order of Mali was founded on 31 May 1963 to celebrate the independence of the country acquired in 1960 after decades of French colonisation. As such, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sissoko Cisse, Inna Living people 1933 births Government ministers of Mali Women government ministers of Mali Malian Muslims University of Paris alumni Grand Officers of the National Order of Mali People from Ségou Region 21st-century Malian people