"I am an activist for the rights of my fellow man.
When I was a child, I defended my friends.
Now, I defend the rights of young girls.
And when I grow up,
I will defend the rights of my people."
Hadja Idrissa Bah
Hadja Idy, as her friends call her, was born on 23 August 1999 in Conakry. A Guinean national, she is a true activist for the cause of women. Having completed her primary and secondary education in Guinea, she recently enrolled in the first year of a law degree at the Sorbonne in Paris.
With a shopkeeper father and a mother who is a housewife, Hadja Idrissa Bah comes from a modest family, showing that it is not necessary to be born with a silver spoon in one's mouth to gain access to knowledge and to understand the most crucial social problems of our time. Despite their lack of education and social pressure, Hadja Idrissa's biological parents support her struggle as much as they can in the face of strong fanatic-masochistic attitudes.
President of the Children's Parliament of Guinea at the age of 15, she founded the club, Leaders of Guinea for young girls in 2016. The latter organisation campaigns in the field to combat discrimination against children, particularly in relation to gender: female genital mutilation, forced and/or early marriages, early pregnancies, rape, girls dropping out of school and the ill-treatment of young girls, etc.
She became an activist at a very young age, at 13, and faced enormous difficulties within her own family and her immediate circle, who took a dim view of her involvement, which they saw as bad publicity for the community. She and the members of the girls' leadership club have even been physically threatened or called "money-hungry opportunists" in the pay of a West that advocates for the obliteration of African customs and traditions.
Despite these threats, Hadja Idy, who has made the defence of abused young girls her flagship cause, does not yield to any misogynistic or even patriarchal obstacle. She is still keeping going with a few people willing to support her in her struggle. This is particularly the case for the Gender, Children and Morals Office (OPROGEM).
She is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Equipop based in France, a columnist for RFI radio and a member of the network of young feminists in French-speaking West Africa, through which she speaks for feminists in the area.
There is hope and everything suggests that the law studies begun by the young activist in Paris will allow her to go as far as possible in what has always been her fight: the defence of the rights of young girls in Guinea and in Africa.
