Fatima Maada Bio: Turning the Office of First Lady Into a Platform for African Change

When Fatima Maada Bio became First Lady of Sierra Leone in 2018, she inherited a highly visible office but no guaranteed pathway to measurable influence. Rather than limit herself to ceremonial appearances and charitable gestures, she set about transforming the platform into an instrument for confronting some of the most difficult realities facing women and girls.

Her priorities were clear from the beginning: ending child marriage, combating sexual and gender-based violence, keeping girls in school, expanding women’s economic opportunities and protecting children whose voices were too often ignored. Over time, those priorities developed into a national movement, an expanding foundation and, eventually, a continental leadership role.

Today, Dr Fatima Maada Bio serves not only as First Lady of Sierra Leone but also as President of the Organization of African First Ladies for Development –(OAFLAD), placing her at the centre of efforts to advance health, education, women’s economic empowerment and the prevention of gender-based violence across Africa. Her rise reflects the widening reach of an agenda that began in Sierra Leone but now resonates in continental and global policy spaces.

At home, she has become one of the most recognisable voices in the struggle to protect girls. Abroad, she has positioned Sierra Leone as an increasingly visible contributor to discussions about gender equality, maternal health, child protection, climate resilience and women’s leadership.

Her work has not been without criticism or controversy, as is often the case with public figures who adopt a forceful advocacy style. Yet the breadth of her engagements, the partnerships secured and the causes elevated suggest a First Lady determined to use access and visibility to push neglected issues into the centre of national conversation.

From Campaign to National Movement

The defining platform of Fatima Maada Bio’s advocacy has been the Hands Off Our Girls initiative, launched in December 2018 with the support of President Julius Maada Bio. The campaign was established to combat gender-based violence, underage marriage and other forms of exploitation affecting girls and young women.

What began as a national sensitisation campaign has gradually evolved into a wider movement promoting protection, education, dignity and opportunity. Its central message is direct: girls are not property, their bodies are not bargaining tools, and their futures must not be determined by violence, poverty or harmful traditions.

The campaign’s strength has rested partly in its ability to translate legal and policy language into messages that ordinary families can understand. Through community engagements, public events, advocacy programmes and partnerships, it has attempted to make the protection of girls a shared responsibility involving government, parents, schools, religious leaders, traditional authorities and young people themselves.

The initiative describes its mission as combating gender-based violence while promoting the empowerment of women and girls, with the broader objective of creating a society in which they can live without violence or discrimination. Its work has increasingly been presented as part of a global movement rather than an exclusively Sierra Leonean campaign.

That evolution has been reflected in the language used by young girls themselves. Speaking to students at the Institute of Public Administration and Management in Freetown, the First Lady recalled the resistance she faced when she began the campaign, including arguments that girls could not be fully protected or afforded equal opportunities.

“The barriers were significant, but breaking them was necessary,” she told the students.

She pointed to one expression that has become associated with the campaign’s emotional impact: “Today, one of the strongest affirmations of the progress we have made is when an underage girl confidently asserts her right to protection by saying, ‘I am Fatima Bio’s daughter.’”

For the First Lady, that declaration represents more than personal identification. It signals that some girls now understand that protection is a right and that society has a duty to defend them.

Changing the Conversation on Child Marriage

Ending child marriage has remained one of the central pillars of Fatima Maada Bio’s work. Her advocacy has taken the issue from community platforms and university halls in Sierra Leone to international media and global policy discussions.

At Fourah Bay College, she used a public lecture to renew calls for the eradication of child marriage and the expansion of girls’ education, presenting both objectives as essential to Sierra Leone’s long-term development.

Her argument has consistently connected education with protection. Girls who remain in school are more likely to delay marriage, acquire skills, participate in the economy and make informed decisions about their health and future. Removing them from classrooms, by contrast, increases their vulnerability to early pregnancy, abuse, poverty and dependence.

The First Lady has described education as one of the most powerful instruments for transforming lives and creating a more equal society. Her foundation’s support has also extended to higher education, with more than 100 Fourah Bay College students reported to have benefited from assistance with university fees.

That support aligns with President Bio’s broader Human Capital Development agenda, which has placed education at the centre of the government’s national development programme. The First Lady’s role has been to reinforce that policy direction through advocacy focused particularly on the barriers preventing girls and young women from fully participating.

Her interventions recognise that tuition alone does not guarantee access. Menstrual hygiene, family poverty, sexual exploitation, unsafe learning environments and social pressure can all push girls out of school. In February 2023, for example, the Office of the First Lady reported distributing more than 7,000 sanitary pads to schoolgirls in Kono District, addressing one of the practical challenges that can affect attendance and dignity.

Leadership Beyond the Podium

Fatima Maada Bio has also invested considerable effort in speaking directly to university students, framing leadership as an obligation rather than a title. Her lecture series has taken her to institutions including Fourah Bay College, IPAM and Ernest Bai Koroma University.

At Ernest Bai Koroma University’s Port Loko campus, she addressed students under the theme “Women: Building Today, Transforming Tomorrow.” She argued that women should not be viewed solely as caregivers but as educators, entrepreneurs, innovators, leaders and indispensable contributors to development.

She also presented Sierra Leone’s Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act as an important national milestone, while cautioning that legislation would have limited value unless its provisions produced genuine opportunities.

“May we all commit to building today, so that tomorrow belongs to every Sierra Leonean woman and girl,” she told the gathering.

At IPAM, her emphasis was on character, resilience and preparation. She encouraged young women to pursue leadership roles without allowing fear or social expectations to narrow their ambitions, while reminding all students that the relationships and reputations they build at university can shape their future.

Her message has been especially relevant in a country where women have historically faced limited representation in political decision-making, corporate leadership and public administration. Through the lecture series, she has sought to connect national gender reforms with the expectations of a new generation that must eventually implement them.

Moving Women From Survival to Production

The First Lady’s agenda has expanded beyond protection and education into women’s economic empowerment. One of the clearest examples came through the distribution of agricultural food-processing equipment to women farmers and agro-processors across Sierra Leone.

The equipment was secured following engagements with the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency, known as TİKA. According to the Office of the First Lady, consultations were undertaken to identify women actively involved in agriculture who could benefit most from the machinery.

The intervention was designed to increase productivity, reduce post-harvest losses and create greater economic opportunities for women involved in food production. It also connected the First Lady’s women’s empowerment agenda with President Bio’s Feed Salone programme, which seeks to improve domestic agricultural production and national food security.

“Women play a vital role in agriculture and food production,” Dr Bio said during the handover. “By equipping them with the right resources, we are not only supporting individual families but also contributing to national development and sustainable food security.”

The initiative illustrates an important shift within her work. Protecting women from violence remains fundamental, but genuine empowerment also requires income, productive assets, access to markets and control over economic decisions.

For rural women, food-processing machinery can reduce hours of manual labour, improve the quality of finished products and increase the amount that can be sold. The value of such support therefore extends beyond the original beneficiary to households, farming cooperatives and surrounding communities.

Converting Diplomacy Into Development

One of the most significant features of Fatima Maada Bio’s tenure has been her effort to use international relationships to secure practical benefits for Sierra Leone.

That approach was evident in the protocol agreement for the construction of the Emine Erdogan Mother and Child Hospital in Bo City. The project emerged from engagements involving the First Lady, Türkiye’s First Lady Emine Erdogan and TİKA.

The planned hospital is expected to strengthen maternal and child healthcare services and improve access to specialised care for women and children. It represents the type of development diplomacy through which relationships formed at international conferences are converted into infrastructure at home.

The Office of the First Lady linked the project to discussions held during the Zero Waste Forum in Istanbul, where Dr Bio had indicated that her international engagements should produce tangible benefits for Sierra Leoneans. The subsequent agreement became evidence of that promise moving towards implementation.

For Bo City and the surrounding region, the hospital could become an important addition to Sierra Leone’s maternal health system, particularly if it is properly equipped, staffed and integrated into national healthcare planning.

The project also reflects the First Lady’s wider focus on women’s health, which has included partnerships with international organisations and advocacy around access to specialised medical care.

A Partnership for Health and Girls’ Education

Among the First Lady’s longest-running international partnerships has been her engagement with the Merck Foundation. Beginning in 2018, the collaboration has focused on strengthening healthcare capacity, supporting girls’ education and challenging the stigma surrounding infertility.

The partnership has supported the training of Sierra Leonean doctors in specialised fields, contributing to efforts to expand the country’s limited pool of medical professionals. It has also promoted educational opportunities for girls and public awareness campaigns designed to confront the social blame frequently directed at women in marriages affected by infertility.

The broader significance of this work lies in the relationship between health and dignity. Women living with infertility in many African societies face isolation, accusations and abuse, even though infertility can have male or female medical causes.

By attaching her office to the campaign, Fatima Maada Bio helped bring an issue often treated as private shame into a public discussion about science, compassion and gender justice.

The partnership has demonstrated how the First Lady’s office can provide political visibility while development organisations contribute technical expertise, scholarships, medical training and programme resources.

From Sierra Leone to OAFLAD

Fatima Maada Bio’s election as President of OAFLAD for the 2025–2027 leadership period marked an important expansion of her influence. The position placed her at the head of a continental network seeking to improve the lives of women, young people and children through advocacy, partnerships and resource mobilisation.

OAFLAD’s Strategic Framework for 2025–2030 is organised around four principal pillars: health, education, the prevention of gender-based violence and women’s economic empowerment. Climate change, peace and security are integrated as cross-cutting concerns because of their disproportionate impact on women and children.

In the foreword to the framework, Dr Bio described the strategy as an expression of Africa’s collective commitment to advancing the empowerment of women and girls.

“This framework embodies our collective vision and unwavering commitment to the progress and empowerment of girls, young people and women across the African continent,” she wrote.

She called for greater engagement and collaboration, arguing that the strategy was ambitious but achievable if governments, development partners, communities and international institutions worked together.

“Together, let us forge a path toward a brighter, healthy, more equitable, and prosperous Africa,” she said.

Her presidency gives Sierra Leone a prominent voice within an organisation that engages the African Union, United Nations agencies, governments, civil society organisations and development partners.

It also offers her an opportunity to take lessons from Hands Off Our Girls and connect them with wider African campaigns addressing violence, education, health and economic exclusion.

Building Resilience Across Africa

Under her leadership, OAFLAD has increased its attention to the effect of climate change and conflict on women and girls. The organisation’s Building Resilience campaign has highlighted the ways climate shocks and insecurity can intensify food shortages, unpaid care work, displacement, health risks and gender-based violence.

At the campaign’s launch, Dr Bio called for collective action to protect women’s access to healthcare, education and protection services while supporting their participation in peacebuilding and climate resilience.

The campaign seeks to ensure that women are not treated simply as victims of crises but recognised as leaders capable of shaping responses within communities and national institutions.

This approach has also informed her engagements beyond Sierra Leone. During a national women’s celebration in Gabon, she championed women’s resilience and the need for greater recognition of their role in national development.

Her continental message is rooted in a reality shared across many African countries: women sustain households, farms and local economies, yet remain disproportionately excluded from finance, land ownership, formal employment and political authority.

Changing that reality requires more than inspirational speeches. It demands legal reforms, access to capital, education, healthcare, technology and representation in the institutions where national priorities are determined.

A Global Voice for African Women

Fatima Maada Bio’s international profile has grown through engagements in Washington, at the United Nations and in global media. In September 2023, UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima appointed her a UNAIDS Champion during the 78th United Nations General Assembly, recognition linked to her advocacy for women and girls.

Her work has increasingly connected violence against women with public health, education and economic development. That framing is important because gender-based violence is not an isolated social problem. It affects school participation, healthcare costs, household income, mental health and national productivity.

As OAFLAD President, she has also joined continental discussions about the future of Africa’s HIV response. In a joint intervention with UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima, she warned that funding reductions threatened programmes serving women and girls at risk of HIV infection, particularly community-based initiatives that provide prevention, mentoring and treatment support.

Such interventions reflect the widening scope of her leadership. She is no longer advocating only on behalf of Sierra Leonean girls but speaking about structural pressures affecting women across the continent.

Recognition and Responsibility

The First Lady’s advocacy has attracted numerous awards and international recognitions. In 2026, she was honoured at the Heroes Awards in Banjul, an event celebrating leadership, service and social impact.

Receiving the award, she presented it not simply as a personal achievement but as recognition of the wider network of people working to improve lives.

“The HEROES AWARDS serve as a powerful reminder that sustainable progress is driven by individuals who choose to lead with purpose, compassion, and commitment,” she said.

She added that African societies must continue supporting those whose work creates “pathways of hope and progress for Africa and the world.”

Awards can reinforce visibility, but they also raise expectations. For Fatima Maada Bio, the challenge will be to ensure that the campaigns, partnerships and institutions associated with her leadership remain sustainable, transparent and capable of producing results beyond individual events.

The long-term value of the Hands Off Our Girls movement will ultimately be measured by whether fewer girls experience violence, fewer children are pushed into early marriage, more young women complete their education and more survivors gain access to justice and support.

Similarly, the value of her international engagements will be determined by whether pledged hospitals are completed, medical training improves healthcare capacity and economic empowerment initiatives reach women beyond highly publicised ceremonies.

Redefining the Role of a First Lady

Fatima Maada Bio’s record illustrates the changing nature of the First Lady’s office in Africa. Although unelected and largely undefined by constitutional authority, the office can exercise considerable convening power.

It can bring together governments, traditional leaders, universities, diplomatic missions, international organisations, philanthropists, businesses and community groups around causes that may otherwise struggle for sustained attention.

Dr Bio has used that power with unusual visibility. She has moved between villages and international summits, school campaigns and diplomatic meetings, university lecture halls and continental institutions.

Her style is energetic, personal and frequently emotional. She speaks of girls as daughters, frames women’s empowerment as national survival and treats silence around abuse as part of the problem.

That approach has made her a powerful symbol for supporters who believe Sierra Leone needed a more forceful national voice against violence and child marriage. It has also ensured that her interventions attract intense public scrutiny.

The central question, however, is not whether a First Lady should be visible. It is whether visibility is being converted into lasting opportunity for the people on whose behalf she speaks.

In the case of Fatima Maada Bio, the evidence points to an office that has sought to do more than accompany the presidency. Through Hands Off Our Girls, university support, sanitary-pad distributions, agricultural equipment, medical partnerships, maternal-health diplomacy and OAFLAD leadership, she has assembled a broad platform linking gender equality with national and continental development.

Her journey from national campaigner to President of Africa’s principal network of First Ladies has also elevated Sierra Leone’s profile. It shows that influence is not measured only by the size of a country but by the clarity of the causes it advances and the determination with which it brings them to the world.

Fatima Maada Bio’s legacy is still being written, and the institutions associated with her work will require continued evaluation, stronger data and long-term partnerships. Yet she has already changed expectations surrounding the office she occupies.

She has made the protection of girls difficult to ignore, placed women’s empowerment within the language of national development and carried Sierra Leone’s voice into major African and global forums.

Her message, repeated across campuses, communities and international stages, is that Africa cannot build a prosperous future while millions of women and girls remain unsafe, excluded or unheard. For Sierra Leone’s First Lady, empowering those women and girls is not an accessory to development. It is where development begins.

*Culled From August Issue Of PAV Magazine