She is one of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.
She says: « I will retire the day when no one fears for their safety ».
Fatimata Touré was born in Gao (the sixth administrative region of Mali) in 1956. She is the leader of the Association of Women for Peace and Development in Northern Mali, an organization that works particularly in the regions of Gao, Tombouctou, and Kidal.
The Association of Women for Peace and Development in the North (AFPDN) has always worked for the awareness, formation, support and research of peace as well as its consolidation. Thanks to these varied efforts, communities have become aware of the necessity of voluntarily collecting weapons. She showed courage in denouncing the outlaws as well as the trafficking of war weapons …
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Fatimata Touré – Mali
She works for the Association des Femmes pour la Paix et le Développement au Nord Mali.
… The association has generated much more participation by women in questions of peace and development in the northern regions in particular and in Mali more generally.
Madam Touré Fatimata Touré, as leader of the association of women, has won the favor and confidence of the armed security forces and the communities of the north. She did not want there to be mistrust between the people in charge of security and the communities.
She is also involved in the process of reintegration of the former fighters of the Touareg movements. Three thousand former rebels were absorbed into the Malian army, the French police force and customs authorities. Those who were not employed were helped to find activities allowing them to reintegrate into civilian life.
Nevertheless, Madam Touré also fought for the economic independence of the women of the North. Many families in that area who were vulnerable to repeated droughts were helped.
She involved herself a great deal in the recuperation of stolen goods at the time of the tragic events to the North (1990-1995) and beyond. She could not tolerate that families, indeed communities, suffer because of their possessions being stolen by bands of armies under the cover of rebellion.
Her association’s campaigns meant a lot of families, societies and more communities recovered their goods which were returned to their legal owners. She fully participated in the liberation and exchanges of war prisoners between the Touareg rebels and national authorities.
Madam Touré Fatimata contributed a great deal to the awakening conscience of the nomadic and sedentary women even in tribes and other groups. (1000PeaceWomen).
links:
Association des femmes pour les initiatives de paix AFIP;
Women in Law and Development in Africa;
Helen Keller International Mali HKI;
FEMMES, DROIT et DEVELOPPEMENT en AFRIQUE.
There exists also a Fatima Touré as Ivorian Ambassador. She’s meant by the most of the articles in the internet. Also others than our Fatima Touré are mentionned. To disambiguate them is not always possible.