“I see the efforts we are making, and some people want to ruin everything” – Kadiatou Konate (Guinea) – 2/3

Our conversation with Kadiatou, Guinean feminist activist continues in this second part. After talking about her adolescence, and her first acts of resistance in the first part, we will discuss the situation of girls in Guinea, the challenges that Kadiatou faces, as well as her motivations.

Kadiatou was interviewed by Françoise Moudouthe in late 2019 as part of a global project documenting girls’ resistance. The conversation was edited into this three-part interview by Nana Bruce-Amanquah and Chanceline Mevowanou for our #GirlsResistWA series. You can learn more about the series here. 

Trigger Warning: This conversation contains mentions of violence and abuse that may be triggering for readers. Kindly take a moment to decide if you want to keep reading. If you proceed, we encourage you to focus on your well-being and stop reading at any point if you need to.

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You told me about facing certain realities that made your motivations evolve. What are these realities?

Yes, I encountered girls who were raped or who went through FGM. Girls between the ages of 9 and 12 who are married. Girls who are physically abused at home. Their stories are so heartbreaking that while listening to them, you are filled with the urge to help them. Give your heart and soul to help the find freedom. I wanted to help these girls. Give my heart and soul to support their freedom. Now, I don’t think about my work as a means to defy anyone. I see it as a way to be able to help people.  

And at the beginning of this fight, this resistance, who were your biggest allies? 

My father and my brothers supported me; my whole family did. Then there was Hadja Idrissa Bah. 

What about the other side… who was against you? Did you have to face opposition in your work?

No, I didn’t face real opposition, but rather people who would mock me. People didn’t have faith in what I was doing and would tell me: “What are you getting yourself into this time, Kadi?”. I’m an enthusiastic person, so my relatives took my involvement as a fad that I would get over. But they weren’t opposed to it. 

You told me that Hadja Idrissa Bah faced a lot of resistance. Do you personally find yourself facing opposition? 

Facing opposition is kind of my daily life. Sometimes after a discussion, people attack me privately on social media. They send me messages. I usually block these people. Then some criticise me. I appeared on the BRUT France’s page and that elicited reactions. People would call and insult me. It just made me laugh. I told myself that I had such an impact that people from around the world were responding to what I had to say. I also have to deal with incomprehension from some people in my extended family. In the city, I am sometimes in danger of being assaulted by people who recognise me and are hostile to my struggle. In these cases, I try to quickly find a law enforcement officer to protect me.  Once, a team of girls from the club went to the field to help a young woman who was being forced into marriage. The team was surrounded by a group of hooded youths who threw rocks at them. They had to call the police. Fortunately, the wedding was canceled.

Do you see things in the political environment or the evolution of the Guinean society, or even in the world, that you connect with? 

In the political environment of the country, I am concerned by the low representation of women in the government. After the recent cabinet reshuffle, the government still has very few women. It is complicated to know that in a country where we talk about equity and parity, we end up with a tiny number of women in the administration and the government. It is inexplicable. There is always a tendency to keep women away from decision-making positions to prevent them from expressing themselves, from saying what they want to say, and most importantly from deciding for themselves.

We must not let anyone else decide for us. We experience our issues personally. No one else faces the problems they face in society. Other people may witness what is happening in the community, but women are victims of what is happening. Therefore, women have been demanding a more prominent place in government as well as in decision-making platforms. However, their appeal is still unsuccessful. They are not listened to, or heard.

On another level of the political sphere, there are important laws to be passed in the National Assembly. For example on the protection of women, girls, children, and all that follows. There is much more controversy around a law on female genital mutilation or laws on allowing men to marry four wives.

I realise that these are meaningless debates, and the real issues are not discussed. The situation is so complicated in the country that sometimes I say to myself, "Kadi, what are you doing?” I see the efforts we are making, and some people want to ruin everything.

When you think about your dedication and your resistance, what kind of resources can make your work easier or more efficient?

I need funding. Recently, I spent two weeks in the regions and sub-regions inland and I realised that they did not have any funds to take care of victims of violence. Furthermore, the existing OPROGEs, i.e., the Offices for the Protection of Gender and Childhood, do not have operating funds, or the necessary equipment to help those in need. Moreover, the country only has one shelter. We are vulnerable because, for most of the cases we handle, we provide shelter for these girls in our homes. I can't give you the exact number of girls that we have had to accommodate in our homes.  There is a need for shelters for girls who need reintegration and guidance. That's what I focus on currently: how do we gain funding to open new shelters?

What is also discouraging is that OPROGE staff cannot handle cases of little girls who have been raped because there is no operating budget, and salaries are minimal. So, when the girls come, they are sent back home. Can you imagine? You do all this work in the field to get people to report their assaults, and when they do, you can't meet their needs. It’s disheartening even for those that we sensitised to report these cases. Eventually, they might not do it and the violence will go on. In the end, the fight will have zero impact. Because we cannot handle the complaints. Currently, 20 to 30% of cases are reported. Imagine if this 20 to 30 % refuse to report because of the lack of care for the girls. We must fix the funding issue to fix the numerous issues of effective care.

In the third part of our conversation, Kadiatou explains the impact of activism on herself and her community, her prospects, and her dreams for girls. Click here for this next part.