Sierra Leone’s First Lady Fatima Bio Turns Women’s Struggle Into a Political Weapon

by Fatima Babih, EdD

In Sierra Leone, the fight for women’s rights has always been an uphill battle. But today, the greatest threat to the integrity of that struggle may come from within, from the very person who claims to be its loudest champion: First Lady Fatima Jabbie Bio.

Since her disgraceful display in Parliament, Fatima Bio has only doubled down on her ego tripping, and political strong-arming, adding more layers of arrogance and disregard for the damage she’s inflicting on the country’s women’s movement. Instead of showing humility, Fatima Bio has escalated her attacks, both in her own inflammatory video messages and through her small clique of women within the SLPP known as the JMB Women.

Maid to Political Enforcer

At the center of Fatima Bio’s political strong-arming machine is Hawa Foray, Fatima Bio’s former maid, whom she imposed as Chair of the SLPP Women’s Wing after allegedly rigging the election to oust popular veteran Fatmata Sawaneh. The image below captures Hawa Foray leading a group of women on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, directly to the House of Parliament to confront the Speaker.

This scene at Parliament wasn’t a protest for women’s rights. It was a show of force, by one woman: Fatima Bio herself, to pressure the Speaker of Parliament into apologizing to her for a harmless chant that never even mentioned her name.

A Privileged Protest

Under Julius Maada Bio’s regime, ordinary women in Sierra Leone who dare to protest have been beaten, jailed, and silenced. Yet the JMB Women, Fatima Bio’s hand-picked loyalists, enjoy exclusive privileges no independent women’s group could dream of:

• JMB Women is the only group of women allowed to stage a demonstration in today’s Sierra Leone.
• It is the only group that can enter Parliament and secure an audience with the Speaker without a crackdown by the security forces.
• The group claims to speak for all Sierra Leonean women but has never stood up for issues affecting the most vulnerable.

Where Is JMB Women for The Real Crises?

• Where are these women when little girls are being rampantly molested, even to death?
• Where are they when drugs are ravaging Sierra Leone’s youth?

They are silent. Yet for a petty personal offense to Fatima Bio’s ego, she mobilizes this misinformed group in full force, as one newspaper headline bragged, “storming” Parliament. The JMB women were even chanting a Christian song, replacing “Jesus” with “Fatima:” Instead of:

I have decided to follow Jesus…

The women chanted:

I have decided to follow Fatima

Committing blasphemy means nothing to this group of corrupt and misinformed women.

The women also showed a low level of understanding. One of their speakers said that they were standing up for Fatima Bio because she is the President of all Women in Africa, referring to Fatima Bio’s selection as president of the African First Ladies. All of this shows the caliber of women under Fatima Bio’s control: lack of critical thinking, uninformed, and low self-esteem.

Hijacking Women’s Struggles

These recent stunts by Fatima Bio are not just a matter of bad optics; they are actively harming the cause of women’s progress in Sierra Leone. By turning the women’s struggle into her personal political weapon, Fatima Bio is eroding public trust in the women’s movement in Sierra Leone, alienating grassroots activists, and making it harder for genuine women’s advocacy to be taken seriously in the country.

A Corrupt Message in Her Own Words

In her most telling statement, Fatima Bio said to the Speaker:

But if you think that this is wrong [which is what I want you to think], I hope that you will do the right thing because we have a relationship beyond politics and I hope the right thing you will do.

These were the last words of the most corrupt first lady in Africa in one of her videos, and they are a blatant demonstration of her willingness to openly pressure political leaders for personal gain. It is an open display of the corruption at the heart of Fatima Bio’s operations.

Why This Is Dangerous

If women’s representation in Sierra Leone’s politics is reduced to a loyalty test to Fatima Bio, then the real issues,  ending gender-based violence, tackling drug addiction among the youth, and securing economic empowerment for women, will continue to be hindered.

Fatima Bio’s JMB clique does not represent women’s struggle in Sierra Leone; it represents one woman’s weaponization of gender advocacy for her personal and political ambition.

The Fight Must Return to the People

Women’s struggle for rights and equality in Sierra Leone does not belong to the State Lodge. It belongs to the women in the markets, in classrooms, in hospitals, on farms, and in the streets; women who are facing real danger for speaking truth to power.

Sierra Leoneans must reclaim women’s struggle from Fatima Bio’s stage-managed spectacle before it becomes nothing more than a political prop.