Zeinebou Mint Taleb Moussa (Arabic: زينب منت طالب موسى) is a women's rights activist in Mauritania, focused on combating sexual violence through her work as founder of El Wafa, a survivors' center, and as president of the non-governmental organization the Mauritanian Association for Maternal and Child Health (French: Association Mauritanienne pour la Santé de la Mère et de l'Enfant, AMSME).
Zeinebou Mint Taleb Moussa | |
|---|---|
| Occupation(s) | Midwife, Human rights activist |
Career
editMint Taleb Moussa was trained as a midwife, and worked in the Mauritanian Ministry of Health. In 2000, together with other midwives, she established the AMSME, to educate women about reproductive health and rights. In beginning their work, however, they realized that another issue, sexual violence, needed addressing.[1] So in 2001, she founded the El Wafa center in Nouakchott to help victims of rape and sexual assault.[2][3]
In 2016 she was named by the president of Mauritania, a member of the National Process for the Prevention of Torture (French: Mécanisme National de Prévention de la Torture).[4] She has also served as an advisor for the Global Fund for Women.[5]
Mint Taleb Moussa is working with other leaders in Mauritania to draft new laws concerning rape, which is not specifically recognized in the legal code.[6]
Awards and honors
edit- OkayAfrica 100 Women, 2017.[6]
- Femme de Courage en Mauritanie pour l’année 2017, presented by United States Ambassador to Mauritania, 2017.[7]
References
edit- ^ "Zeinabou Mint Taleb Moussa, présidente de l'AMSME : "On a mené des actions pour un changement de mentalité, car les femmes violentées sont culpabilisées par la propre famille. La femme est toujours victime ici."". NoorInfo.com (in French). 2013-03-08. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
- ^ Kestler-D’Amours, Jillian (2017-10-18). "Stories - Mauritania's Veterans in the Fight Against Sexual Violence — International Reporting Project". International Reporting Project. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
- ^ Wedoud, Mohamed Yahya Abdel (2010-12-22). "Rape victims fear being jailed in Mauritania". Retrieved 2018-10-22.
- ^ "Nomination du président et des membres du Mécanisme National de Prévention de la Torture". Agence Mauritanienne de l'Information. 2016-04-20. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
- ^ "Global Fund for Women, Annual Report 2013-14".
- ^ a b "ZEINEBOU MINT TALEB MOUSSA". OkayAfrica. 2017-03-06. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
- ^ "L'Ambassade des Etats-Unis présente la candidature de Mme Zeinebou Taleb Moussa au prix international de Femme de Courage 2017". amsme-dei.org (in French). December 2017. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
Further reading
edit- UNFPA, Programming to Address Violence Against Women: 10 case studies, 2006. Chapter 1, "Mauritania: Midwives Call Attention to the Problem of Rape, and Imams Encourage Justice for Its Victims."