Biography
About Farida
Farida Nabourema is a social activist and writer, recently emerging as the unequivocal voice of Togo’s pro-democracy movement. Farida has been a fearless advocate for democracy and human rights in Togo since she was a teenager. Through hundreds of articles written on her blog and other sites, Farida denounces corruption, dictatorship and promotes a form of progressive Pan Africanism.
In 2014, Farida published a book in French titled “La Pression de oppression” (The Pressure of Oppression) in which she discussed the different forms of oppression that people face throughout Africa and highlighted the need for youth and women to be politically engaged.
Faure Must Go
Farida is the Executive Director of the Togolese Civil League, an NGO that promotes democracy and human rights in Togo through grassroots organizing, civic education, and advocacy. Prior to taking that position, Farida founded the Faure Must Go movement in 2011 where she organized Togolese youths to stand against the dictatorial regime of Faure Gnassingbe. Faure Must Go has become the slogan for the civil resistance movement in Togo of which Farida is one of the most well-known leaders.
Farida is a 2021 Jennings Randolph Senior Research Fellow at the United States Insitute of Peace where she is conducting research on gender-based repression in nonviolent movements in Africa. Farida is also a 2020 Freedom Fellow at the Human Rights Foundation and an Inclusive Global Leadership Initiative adjunct professor at the Joseph Korbel School of International Studies where is teaching a class titled “Authoritarianism in the digital age”.
Farida has risen to become one of the most influential faces in the efforts for democracy in Togo and the West African region, and she was awarded The Young Female Advocate of the Year in 2017 by African Youth Awards and named one of the Most Influential African Women in 2019 by Avance Media. Farida was also listed as one of the Four Crusaders Keeping The Dream of Democracy Alive in 2018 by Times Magazine. In 2021, Farida was also listed among the 100 Most Influential People in Gender Policy by Apolitical.