By Dr. Fatima Babih
In Sierra Leone, where the lives of girls hang in the balance, there is a stark and harrowing reality that hardly makes the news. It is a story of injustice, deceit, and the relentless pursuit of personal gain at the expense of the most vulnerable in society: girls living in poverty and exploitation. This story’s villain is Mrs. Fatima Maada Bio, the wife of the illegitimate President of Sierra Leone.
In a world where compassion should reign supreme to lessen the suffering of the most vulnerable, Mrs. Bio’s actions speak of a different narrative. She has ascended to the pinnacle of fame and fortune, all while cloaking herself in the names of the very girls who are suffering unimaginable horrors.
For instance, her promise of building an “ultra-modern one-stop rape treatment facility” in 2021 was nothing but a cruel illusion. This hollow promise concealed her true intentions. It was a façade designed to catapult her into the spotlight. This ruse has left countless innocent girls without the help they so desperately need.
A stark piece of evidence is the heartbreaking story of a six-year-old girl who was raped by a seventy-five-year-old man in northern Sierra Leone just a few months ago, in August 2023.
What did Mrs. Bio offer this traumatized child and her family? The chilling answer is nothing – a deafening silence in the face of unspeakable suffering.
Today, as the calendar turns to November 18, 2023, Mrs. Bio orchestrates yet another sinister charade. She convenes her international allies in Sierra Leone, delivering rehearsed speeches laden with grandiose claims and unfulfilled promises.
It is a tragic spectacle because none of her words bear the weight of genuine intention. Instead, they serve as a smokescreen, concealing the painful truth that Mrs. Maada Bio cares nothing about the girls in Sierra Leone.
As seen above, Mrs. Bio’s November 18, 2023, event flyer has her private foundation, Maada & Fatima Bio Foundation, front and center. This foundation is the main beneficiary of funds and resources Mrs. Bio appropriates in the names of girls and women in Sierra Leone.
For five years, Mrs. Bio used her other organization, Hands Off Our Girls, to siphon funds into the bank account of her private foundation, which she and her husband brought with them from the United Kingdom when he became president. This organization is not accountable to the Anti-corruption Commission of Sierra Leone or any other government.
Since the elections in June 2023, Mrs. Bio has been silent about Hands Off Our Girls, which she used for five years to cause so much havoc on the people and the economy of Sierra Leone.
And what about the children who suffered unspeakable injuries in February 2023 when Mrs. Bio insisted on busing ten thousand of them to a cramped stadium for her Hands Off Our Girls menstrual pad distribution/ political rally? That event resulted in disaster when a railing at the stadium collapsed, leaving many, especially girls, with permanent injuries – physical, emotional, and mental.
Today, many of those children in Bo City continue to suffer recurrent seizures, fainting, and limb injuries, the haunting echoes of that fateful day. Yet, Mrs. Bio remains unmoved, offering silence to those who suffer.
In the eyes of outsiders, she remains a champion, a purported advocate for the betterment of girls in Sierra Leone, mainly due to the lies she tells on the international stage. But the harsh reality is far removed from this image. Many girls in Sierra Leone go to bed hungry, their education dreams shattered by the exorbitant cost and lack of the needed materials.
Mrs. Bio’s recent lofty claim of offering scholarships to rape victims is a cruel irony, laying bare the hollowness of her husband’s promise of free quality education for children in Sierra Leone.
In Sierra Leone today, the police continue to struggle with limited resources to bring rape perpetrators to justice. At the same time, the Ministry of Social Welfare/Gender and Children’s Affairs continues to stand helpless about the plight of victimized girls, as Mrs. Bio continues to siphon their resources away for her personal gain.
Mrs. Bio, in her relentless pursuit of wealth and fame, has usurped the very lifelines meant to support the most vulnerable in the country.
From 2018 to 2023, Mrs. Bio’s presence on social media was loud, insufferable, and disruptive. But since her husband’s alleged rigging of the 2023 elections, she has adopted a more dangerous covert approach. She has infiltrated women’s organizations, including Women in Media, and her husband has strategically placed her relatives and friends in key government positions, all to secure her financial interests.
As hands of exploitation, including her own, continue to destroy the lives of innocent girls in Sierra Leone, Mrs. Fatima Maada Bio’s riches and fame soar to new heights, all achieved on the backs of these suffering girls and women.
Meanwhile, on a daily basis, the majority of girls in Sierra Leone endure severe hunger, sexual exploitation, child labor, child marriage, and the cruel deprivation of their right to education.
The situation of girls in Sierra Leone demands our collective outrage as Sierra Leoneans, as well as social justice advocates everywhere. This article is a rallying cry for justice, accountability, and genuine compassion for girls in Sierra Leone who continue to face unimaginable challenges. We can work towards a brighter, more equitable future for vulnerable girls through sustained and united action.
MAMA SALONE ~ Lioness of the West Coast 