Outsiders: Aouta Kéita

Aouta Kéita (1912-1980) was a Malian midwife, political activist and writer. She was one of the first women in French West Africa to become a professionally trained midwife. She was an activist and supporter of independence and women’s rights, and the first woman to serve in Mali’s National Assembly. Her autobiography is considered a landmark feminist text in African literature.

For Further Reading:

• Aoua Kéita (1912-1980)
• Aoua Kéita: pioneering the path for African women's empowerment - The New Times
• Aoua Keita (1912–1980): Anti-Colonial Activist, Nationalist Politician, and Feminist in Mali (West Africa)

This month we're talking about Outsiders -- women who marched to the beat of their own drum and rejected stereotypes about what women "should" be. They are aesthetic pioneers, norm-benders, and often the only woman in their field.

History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.

Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hello from Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan and this
is Wamanica. This month, we're talking about outsiders, women who
marched to the beat of their own drum and rejected
stereotypes about what women should be. Their aesthetic pioneers, norm benders,
and often some of the only women in their field. Today,
we're talking about a remarkable midwife, political activist, and writer

(00:25):
who penned groundbreaking legislation and advocated for women's rights across Molly.
Let's meet Ioua Quita. Ioua was born on July twelfth,
nineteen twelve, in Bamaco, which was then part of French
Sedan what we now know is Molli. She was born
into an elite family. Her mother was one of the
prestigious Tukuler ethnic group, and her father, a veteran of

(00:48):
the French army, was deeply committed to education. Due to
her family's status, Ioua was one of the few African
girls allowed to attend French colonial school. Early on, Iowa
stood out in a time and place where girls were
expected to fulfill the roles of wives and mothers. She
instead pursued a career. The career options available to women
at the time were constrained. She continued her education in

(01:11):
Senegal in nineteen thirty one. There she studied to become
a midwife, entering a medical profession dominated by colonial authority
and male oversight. By the time she was eighteen years old,
she was already working across remote parts of French Sudan,
often serving communities with no access to basic health care.
Her first location was Gao, a rural region of French

(01:32):
Sudan that allowed Ioua to confront the inequality in her country.
Iowa didn't just learn a new language in Gao, she
learned a different culture. She integrated local techniques into her
practice and took up sewing to foster closer friendships with
the women she served. Through those relationships, she learned more
about the injustices of colonial rule and wanted to be

(01:53):
part of something to fight it. So began Ioua's political awakening.
In nineteen forty six, Iowa joined the African Democratic Rally.
The organization brought together various French colonies which were brewing
with increasingly anti colonial sentiments following World War II. The RDA,
as it was often called, was one of the leading
voices for African independents at the time, Iowa quickly rose

(02:17):
through the ranks, eventually becoming one of the party's most
vocal advocates. In nineteen fifty seven, she helped found the
Union of Salaried Women of Bamaco, which was created to
give voice to women in politics. But even within this
progressive political movement, Ioua stood out as a woman, as
a divorcee, and as someone who refused to stay in
the background. In nineteen fifty nine, she made history when

(02:41):
she became the first woman elected to the National Legislative
Assembly of Moli, then still known as the Sudanese Republic.
Her presence in parliament wasn't just symbolic. When Molly gained
independence in nineteen sixty, Aa was part of forming the
foundations of the new nation. When she helped draft its constitution.
She was the only woman in party leadership when she

(03:02):
helped pass the Marriage and Guardianship Code. With this code,
Molly became the first West African country to have a
legal framework that governed marriage that included measures to limit
dowry payments, prohibit desertion, and stop forced marriage. After putting
in decades of activism, Ioua was pushed out of government
by a political rival. The wife of Molly's first president,

(03:25):
Iowa was isolated politically and professionally. She gave up Midwi
free in nineteen sixty six, when the president of Mali
was overthrown in a coup. She left the country and
settled in the Republic of Congo. She lived there in
exile for more than a decade, but Iowa never disappeared.
In nineteen seventy five, she published her autobiography called African Woman.

(03:48):
It's one of the first political memoirs by an African woman.
In it, she tells her story on her own terms, clear, sharp,
and unrelenting. The book won the Grand Literary Prize of
Black Africa. AUA returned to Molly in nineteen seventy nine
and passed away the following year. She was sixty seven
years old. Her legacy lives on in her writing, in

(04:09):
the law she worked to create, and in the generations
of women she's inspired to take up space, speak out
and push back. All month, We're talking about Outsiders. For
more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram at Wamanica
Podcast special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and
co creator. As always, we'll be taking a break for

(04:30):
the weekend. Talk to you on Monday.