On the occasion of the commemoration of International Women’s Day on 8 March, Minesactu.info gave the floor to Miriam Ouédraogo, Deputy General Manager of Burkina Gold Trading International and President of the Simplified Cooperative of Artisanal Miners Tingbila. With her, several themes were discussed: the place of women in the commercialisation of gold and in mining crafts.
Minesactu.info: Can you introduce yourself to our readers?
Miriam Ouédraogo: I am Miriam Ouédraogo, a lawyer by formation, Deputy General Manager of Burkina Gold Trading International and President of the Simplified Cooperative of Artisanal Miners Tingbila. Previously, I was a legal advisor in a firm based in Dakar, Senegal, and then Director of another firm before joining the Burkina Gold Trading International counter.
What is your role in the company Burkina Gold Trading International?
At Burkina Gold Trading International, I am responsible for assisting the president in his various tasks. These include participating in negotiations and signing commercial agreements with clients and suppliers in the field of gold marketing, supporting artisanal miners in the process of small-scale gold mining, setting up and supervising the chain of custody of artisanal and semi-mechanised gold production within the company, develop and implement a company development plan, manage the company’s relations with banks and various government departments, monitor the company’s domestic operations, coordinate the purchase, transportation, analysis, consignment and export of gold.
Work in this sector is seen as masculine. Tell us what strengths you bring to the table to succeed in your job?
As I understand it, there is no sector reserved for men and no sector reserved for women. In fact, women are the mothers of humanity. I have just adapted to the requirements of the sector and everything is going well, despite the fact that the sector is predominantly male. On top of that, I bring my feminine touch to the execution of my different missions. Indeed, working in this sector requires rigour, availability, understanding and humility.
Do you encounter difficulties in the field because you are women?
There are difficulties, but the main one I face as a woman is that I am very often underestimated. In the office as well as on the sites, they think “she can’t do the job there”. They are even more surprised when they realise that I am as good as the men. For a long time the field has been without women, so some men still refuse to admit the presence of women. Often they are against any form of collaboration or negotiation with a woman. Also, it should be noted that there are many prejudices about the handling of gold by women; but we are currently overcoming them as we go on.
Do you have any anecdotes to share with our readers?
«Laughing» A good anecdote: Once the Director was supposed to receive gold miners to discuss some kind of collaboration. At the last minute he was unable to attend and I had to lead the meeting. When they arrived, they were installed and when I entered the room, I greeted everyone. They told me that they had come to see the president. I replied that he would not be there. They asked me if they should come back another day, I said that I am replacing the president and we could talk. One of them spoke in Mooré: is there a man here? Does the woman know the work there? The other replied: “We’ll see. We started talking and they were surprised by my mastery of the subject. The one who doubted said again in Moore: This is a woman gold miner. Everything went well, they left satisfied with the meeting and now we are working together without any difficulties.
A bad one: I went on a mission to a site, for an organisation, to set up a chain of custody for the gold they were producing. When I arrived, the vast majority were against the reorganisation of the site, because they are proud men and a woman will not come and impose her vision on them; we negotiated without success and I was obliged to organise another mission with the Director to make them receptive. I felt a bit bad about myself as a woman, because what they accepted from the President was exactly what I had proposed. I was frustrated. I realised that we still have to make efforts as women to impose ourselves on these men who think we don’t belong in this environment.
As a woman, what advice do you have for other women and girls in general and those in the mining sector in particular?
The advice I have to give is that we must be strong, enduring and united in order to be respected for those who are in the sector; by the way, I congratulate all the different women’s associations that militate for women’s rights and a better consideration of women in the mining sector. To those who wish to enter the sector, I would tell them to do so without any hesitation. I would add that this is a challenging field, which pushes us to surpass ourselves. The field is also exciting because we are in contact with the gold miners who are people whose common sense and respect for others, the contact with nature and also the knowledge of the economic operators in the area is really edifying. So I invite you to come together and we will move the lines and show people that we have a place there. “Laughing”
A final word?
I would like to thank your newspaper for having granted me this interview which allows the public to know that the mining sector is not exclusively reserved for men and that several prejudices that are said about this sector are generally not accurate.
I wish all the brave women of Burkina Faso and the world an excellent day of commemoration of Women’s Day. I invite them to make this day, a day of reflection for the effectiveness of women’s rights in all areas of activity that are considered to be reserved for men, such as the mining sector.
May this day be a day to show that we can be useful in the face of the security situation in our country, because we have a role to play, and this starts with our prayers for our brave soldiers, our support for the widows and orphans of our fallen heroes, and our solidarity with the families of internally displaced persons. May God bless Burkina Faso.
Interview conducted by Elie KABORE
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