MEET MISS DJENEBA "NABOU"SIDIBE, REPPIN POUR TOUTES LES GOS DU MALI AVEC CLASSE!

Les gos du Mali ne blaguent pas dee...:)

I met miss Nabou through her best friend Adama & she
strucked me as being an articulate young woman who knew what she wanted her life and who went and still goes after it.
While talking to her, it became clear to me that she was an African sista proud of her origins and in tune with her emotions...She's pursuing a Master's degree (are u done ?) & working as a management consultant not bad for a 26 year old young woman hun..

La go je te tire mon chapeau..!!
I'm always proud to see young African sistas focused and ambitious...

Anywhoo discover her in her own words.
Let's Go!!

Being a Malian woman to me means
Pride: to know where you’re from & it also means belonging to a nation so full of history.

Bamako is…
Home Sweet Home.

Malian women are special because
They are beautiful, smart, warm, independent and traditional (this is not an oxymoron)!

Being a Woman means..........
Being able to embrace every emotion known to human being and not having to apologize for it.

Passion is.......
Fire! Spunk! Energy! It drives us to do things we thought we thought we could not/would not do.

Education means......
Freedom! Education means that I control my life and where I want to go in my life… plus no matter where life takes you, no one can ever take that away....

It is our duty as African men and women to........
Raise smart, educated, and humble young men and women of integrity who are ready to lead the continent.

Spirituality is.......
An individual journey. (that statement was deep sista )

Malian men are......
Always full of surprises and incredibly resourceful.

What I like the most about my culture is
Our strong bonds to our families, friends, cultures, and traditions: it’s a wonderful feeling.

What I like the least?
Our strong bonds to our families, friends, cultures, and traditions: it can sometimes be too much!

If I was to represent my country by one thing, one fact? It would be? Why?
It would be bogolan (Bògòlanfini), the traditional mudcloth. It is a very recognizable and famous pattern. I wish we would market it better such as Chris Seydou had started doing and Ismael Diabate is still doing. Local artists should own it and market it internationally, so when people see it, they think of Mali, the same way people think of Ghana when they see Kente cloth. A lot of people in the West are familiar with the pattern but very ignorant about its origins or meaning. Yet, they profit from the prints on numerous products.


My country is improving.......
Mali is working on diversifying its industries. Cotton was primary and still has a big role. However, the effects of climate change on the country, such as the changes in weather patterns and the creeping desert, are worrisome... So I am happy to say that we are trying to tap into other products: gold, oil, cereals… and increase their output.

My country needs to improve
The educational and health systems: we have one of the lowest adult literacy rate, shortest life span, and highest infant mortality rate.

To me people like Oumou Sangare, Rokia Traore represent…
Our voices.

I feel that social issues such as............... are important:
Poverty, Education, HIV/AIDS, Immigration, Health Systems, Gender inequity.

I feel that non profit organizations such as.......are doing a great/or not job
They provide an invaluable service to society: they attract attention to issues that need to be addressed (Greenpeace, Transparency International for example), support people who need it (Oxfam, MSF, Plan Parenthood, Red Cross/Crescent among others) and provide balance in today’s world ruled by strong governments and multinationals. They are not perfect and sometimes their purpose and roles are questionable. Yet, if they did not exist, we’d have to invent them.

The Malian products that I use are........
Shea butter… the real deal too, LOL, none of that watered down stuff they sell here ;-)

I wish that people knew that we Malian people are..........?
I think most people already know that Malians are welcoming and they open their homes and heart to anyone.

I wish my Malian brothers understood that
Vision is everything! We need to dream big if we want to achieve big.

What do you do?
I am currently a management consultant.

My mission in life is......
To be happy and to make those around me happy.

I am thankful for my parents allowing me to
Be myself.

Of my culture I will teach my children to....
Embrace it through music, arts, and literature.

To me being an African woman as a whole means
Not enough words in the dictionary to describe the intelligence, beauty, compassion of African women.

I feel that we are different from our mothers
Because we have so many more opportunities and we are taking them.

I feel that we are # or similar to American, European women.......?
Different and that is the beauty of it.

My life devise is?
It can’t get worse, so it can only get better from here on??!

My fondest memory is....
So many! Most of them involve good times with my family and friends.

My biggest regret is....
To not be able to play a music instrument. I love music and I wish I could create it.

Which African countries have u visited? Which ones would u like to?
I’ve been to Mali, Senegal, Tunisia…. I’d like to visit every single country: they are all full of history and beautiful people.

Is there enough of a dialogue btw African women of various African countries? Do we even try to really understand each other?
I don’t think there is a dialogue per se, but there is an underlying understanding of each other. Especially living abroad, I have friends from so many other African countries: the differences, when they do exist, are just minimal. For most things, we do understand each other because we are women first and foremost, before any cultural and national identity.



I would feel complete looking back on my life...?
Once I take over the world, eradicate poverty, gender inequality, illnesses, and unhappiness… jeez, I guess I will never feel complete then:)

My fav' book is?
So many books so little time to write about them! Let me jest give a lil’ list of some of them (I know I will remember more later, oh well!!!): Half of a Yellow Sun, The Kite Runner, L’Etrange Destin de Wangrin, Things Fall Apart, Travels of a T-shirt in the Global Economy, Makes me Wanna Holler, The Coldest Winter Ever, The Emperor of Ocean Park, The DaVinci Code, Interpreters of Maladies, While I Was Gone, etc.…. (sista the Emperor of Ocean Park is brilliant I agree)

Wealth is....
Money!!! You have to be honest…. Money matters to a certain extent. There such a thing as too little money and there is such a thing as too much money. Lucky are those that can strike the right balance enabling them to afford the life they want, without the ills of that too many riches can bring.

What I know for sure in life is.....
Death.

"BY THE WAY, I AM IMPATIENT TO RE-READ THE ANSWER TO THESE QUESTIONS IN 10 YEARS AND SEE HOW I WOULD ANSWER THEN!!! THANKS YAYE!"

Thank you Miss Nabou, I've learned so much about your experience as a Malian woman and as a woman simply. Keep holding yourself with so much poise, funk, grace and humility !!

Till 2017 then:)

Inch'Allah!

Djaa les gos du Mali sont dans l'articulement de la chose quoi:)

Eyee Wayyee:)