Born: 12 July 1912, Mali
Died: 17 May 1980
Country most active: Mali
Also known as: NA
Aoua Keïta was a Malian midwife, activist, and politician, recognized as a prominent figure in Mali’s struggle for independence, trade unionism, and feminism.
Born in Bamako, Mali, in 1912 to Mariam Coulibaly and Karamoko Keïta, Aoua defied gender norms by receiving primary education and later attending the École africaine de médecine et de pharmacie de Dakar, where she earned a diploma in midwifery, becoming one of the first Black African women to do so. Her career took her to various locations in Mali, including Gao, Tougan, Kayes, Niono, Kokry, Markala, and Nara. In 1935, she married Daouda Diawara, a physician, and later married Djimé Diallo in 1949.
Aoua Keïta became politically active, joining the Union soudanaise-Rassemblement démocratique africain (US-RDA) in 1946. Notably, in 1951, she played a crucial role in ensuring the transparency of elections, facing opposition from the French administration and subsequently being transferred for “disciplinary reasons.” Her activism led to additional transfers, but she persisted, founding the Women’s Intersyndical Movement and representing it at the 1957 Congress of the General Union of Workers of Black Africa. Aoua became a key figure in the US-RDA, serving on the political bureau, the Constitutional Committee of the Sudanese Republic, and as a deputy of the Mali Federation in 1959, the first Malian woman to hold such a position.
Aoua Keïta’s contributions extended internationally, representing Mali at the 1959 founding meeting of the Union of Women of West Africa and initiating the International Day of African Women (JIFA) in 1962. Despite her significant impact, the military coup led by Moussa Traoré in 1968 marked the end of her political career. Aoua left Mali, returning only in 1979, and passed away a year later at the age of 67. Her legacy persists as a trailblazer in African feminism, politics, and social activism.