Mariam Lamizana

Mariam Lamizana is a Burkinabé sociologist, social worker, feminist activist and politician.

Life

Mariam Lamizana was born 1951 in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. She is the daughter of Sangoulé Lamizana, the military officer who was President of Upper Volta from 1966 to 1980.
A campaigner against female genital mutilation, Lamizana was the first president of the National Committee to Combat the Practice of Excision and is President of the Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children. She served in the government of [Burkina Faso] as Minister of Social Action and National Solidarity from 2001 to 2002. She is also President of Voix des Femmes, created in 2000.
Lamizana was nominated for the 2009 Sakharov Prize.