Fatima Bio, Sierra Leone First Lady: Speaking up

The Interview

BBC

News, Government, Politics

4.3 • 537 Ratings

🗓️ 17 May 2026

⏱️ 23 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

BBC journalist Megha Mohan speaks to Sierra Leone’s first lady, Fatima Bio, about escaping child marriage at the age of 13, rebuilding her life as a refugee in London, and her rise to become one of the country’s most outspoken public figures. Since becoming first lady, Bio has transformed the role in Sierra Leone, campaigning publicly on issues including child marriage, sexual violence and period poverty.

To supporters, she is a refreshing voice in politics, who speaks up for women and girls, while others say she has overstepped her remit and that she is too vocal and too involved in the running of her husband’s party. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky, and Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the UN. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Megha Mohan Producer: Osman Iqbal Editor: Damon Rose and Justine Lang Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Fatima Bio. Credit: Getty Images)

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, Music, radio, podcasts.
0:06.4	Hello, I'm BBC presenter, Megamohan, and this is the interview from the BBC World Service.
0:12.6	The best conversations coming out of the BBC, people shaping our world from all over the world.
0:19.8	If you're not a little bit afraid, then you're not paying attention.
0:24.5	We have never seen a people so united.
0:28.1	Do not make that boat crossing. Do not make that journey.
0:30.8	Being born in America, feeling American, having people treat me like I'm not.
0:34.9	We're more popular than populism.
0:38.7	For this interview, I traveled to Sierra Leone to speak to the country's First Lady, Fatima Bio,
0:44.5	who fled civil war as a teenager before rebuilding her life as a refugee in London.
0:50.5	Since becoming first lady, she has transformed the role, campaigning tirelessly on issues including sexual violence, period poverty and child marriage, after narrowly escaping the same fate herself at the age of 13.
1:05.8	To supporters, she is a bold and refreshing voice who speaks openly about the issues affecting women and girls.
1:13.1	But critics say she has become too outspoken and too politically involved in the running of her husband's party.
1:20.5	A woman in Africa has to be silenced by all means.
1:26.4	A woman in Africa does not have the right to say anything other than
1:32.7	yes, sir, yes, ma. And I refuse to be that woman. I refuse to be one of those women.
1:41.8	When I got married to my husband, I never knew he was going to be president.
1:47.4	So it's not like I channel myself to be who I am today. I'm not worried about any negativity
1:55.1	that has been said. A negativity that is based on people who are so terrified that this woman might come up to contest for presidency.
2:09.6	Welcome to the interview from the BBC World Service with Fatima Beow.
2:14.6	Your role, the First Lady of Sierra Leone, you've defined it to give it its own identity.
2:22.3	Do you want to tell us more about what that is?
	...

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