Mariam Diallo Dramé

Mariam Diallo Drame is a Malian human rights activist focused not only on standing up for the rights of underrepresented people, but also for fellow advocates to continue their work in the face of oppression. At the age of thirteen Mariam founded the Children’s Parliament of Mali after seeing the suffering of children living in the streets of Mali’s capital, Bamako. After fifteen years of humanitarian efforts, Mariam would go on to become the founder and president of the Association of Women’s Leadership and Sustainable Development, an organization that advocates for women’s health and reproductive rights, as well as, advancing opportunities for education and leadership. 

Due to the volatile, militarized political state of Mali, her efforts have resulted in attacks on her character and threats against her life. For this reason, Mariam has joined other advocates to form the Front Line Defenders, a collective dedicated to the creation and implementation of legal policy to ensure proper protections for human rights defenders in Mali to be able to safely conduct their work.