Fatimata Touré, who participated in the Pôle genre et développement’s online training programme, was presented the 2014 International Women of Courage award by Michelle Obama.

“I would not have been able to have accomplished this without my training,” said Fatimata Touré.

This prestigious award annually recognizes women around the globe who have demonstrated exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for peace, justice, human rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment, often at great personal risk.

Fatimata Touré, director of Malian NGO GREFFA (Groupe de recherche d’étude de formation femme-action) has been working for more than 20 years to defend women’s rights and fight gender-based violence. She was recognized for putting her own life at risk to publicly advocate women’s and children’s rights, including denouncing human rights abuses, during the extremist occupation of northern Mali in 2012.

During Mali’s security and governance crisis, she continued to speak out against human rights violations even after being threatened by extremists, helping patients from the hospital in Gao to Mopti receive medical care and ensuring the abuses they suffered were not forgotten.

As the current head of the Regional Forum on Reconciliation and Peace in Gao, she carries on advocating justice and women's rights.

The Pôle genre et développement is part of the Graduate Institute’s Programme on Gender and Global Change.