Fight For Her Dreams, And Go To The Top
In Mali, the presence of women in all sectors is a real step forward in promoting their economic empowerment. Women are disproportionately weakened by poverty, discrimination and exploitation. In the struggle for the inalienable right of women to access and empowerment, every woman must know how to defend her rights and pull the rope on her side. To know how to use one's passion as a tool is to improve the living conditions of others. Such is the fight of this young lady who we met. She is a young entrepreneur born in 1993, she is called Fadimata Walet AGHATAM. A graduate in Masters in Public Business Law, specializing in special contracts, she is a corporate lawyer. Passionate about travel, photos and humanitarian work, she created the signature Tid'Art (from her nickname Tidar) in 2015 before making it an artistic project 2 years later in order to help children through school with a foundation of the same name (Tid'Art).
Q: Can you introduce yourself to our readers and tell us about your Tid'Art Foundation?
A: I answer for Fadimata Walet AGHATAM. I am a lawyer , passionate by photography. I decided to help educate every child in Mali by using Tid'Art clichés for sale and the funds will be dedicated to this cause through a foundation.
Q: What do you think of women's empowerment?
A: This is an important topic for which everyone (man and woman) must fight. It is important to recognize that an autonomous woman is an added value.
Q: - To be a woman entrepreneur today, in Mali what does it rhyme?
A: It already rhymes with the title above, that of empowerment, but it also rhymes with the removal of a stereotype that dates back many centuries and would like to keep women in a closed cocoon. The woman evolves and is the one who undertakes miracles, especially in Africa not just in Mali.
Q: What are the main lines of struggle of a woman who dreams of positive social change?
A: Two axes for me: personality and society. To change a society positively one must already believe in oneself enough to be able to carry out what one wishes to bring. Then the society itself, we must not be influenced by stereotypes and prove that the fight is an added value for the common good. I fight only with my faith and my convictions.
Q: In your opinion, in a conservative society, like Mali, if a woman is empowered , is it cultural disobedience?
A: I do not know many cultures in Mali unfortunately, but for the majority I do not think so. Being empowered does not mean living for oneself, for what you earn. No, I do not see it like that, I could be autonomous while keeping the founding values of my culture.
Q: As a woman active in the digital world, what are your favorite themes for your digitalcampaign?
A: I do not take a single theme that I focus on. As I said above, I try to do as much as possible in the context of the education of children. I am also an active member of a movement called "Transformons le Mali"!, Within this last, I fight for several topics, in particular that of the health, the jurisdictional in addition to education which really holds me to heart.
Q: Who inspired you to found your organization?
A : Children. They are a good value if they have access to a healthy and complete education. They are people who inspire me because at their age, they do not understand interpersonal conflicts and get tired of them. An educated or educated child is a very long-term solution. As Malala Yousafzai says, "One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world, ".
Q: Can you tell us about your future plans for women in Mali?
A: It was a childhood project but I hope it will see the light of day. It will involve a training center where every woman will learn a trade. They will also teach in sub-centers affiliated with the largest. They will teach other women the art of these trades. A kind of training university for women. The idea is there but remains to be refined (laughs)!
Q: What are your biggest challenges in the fight for women's empowerment?
A: I'm only at the beginning of my career, but I plan to do a lot if God allows me. However, I know that I am going to face the socio-cultural challenge. Although more and more people are becoming aware of the place occupied by the autonomous woman today.
Q: What can Malian society, communities, and government do to support women's ambitions and dreams? Can women do it alone or is it important to have support systems and networks in place?
A: Society should already change attitudes about the role of women--their ambitions and contributions. The state through its infrastructures could help them by improving access to training and functions but also by financing large-scale projects. A woman can do a lot alone, but it is clear that to be able to flourish more, a support system is a plus.
Q: What is your message for women in Mali especially the new generation?
A: One must not be afraid of what they are capable of accomplishing, the only obstacle to their success is them, and no one else. They are an important or even the most important pawn of society and when they want to undertake things nothing prevents them.
Q: How can people follow your activities on digital (website, social networks, mail)?
A: I am on several digital platforms. They can follow me on Facebook with the Tid'Art Foundation page, on Instagram with Tidart_, on Twitter with FamaaH1 and finally the Tid'Art website: www.tidart.org.
Editor John H . Sime
