Sister Fa was born 1982 in Dakar, Senegal. She took her first steps in rap music in 2000. Recording her first demo-tape, she got to know the Senegalese rap community and participated in festivals. One year later at the age of nineteen she was invited for the first time to perform at the Senegalese HipHop Awards where the best Hip-Hop singers were decorated. At the beginning of 2002 the French producer Philipp Mogan made a film-documentary on Sister Fa, in which she was introduced to the Senegalese rap scene. She was invited to participate in a music compilation called Art City with French and Senegalese rappers that was produced with the help of ENDA Tiers Monde. In the same year she represented Senegal at the Festival de rap feminine international in Guinea Conakry. In 2003 she joined the label FN’F (Fight n´ Forget) where she participated in several compilations, and for the second time she was invited to the Senegalese HipHop Awards. Dedicated that year to the fight against AIDS, a compilation was released Tous Rappons le Sida with a contribution from Sister Fa.

In the beginning of January 2012 Sister Fa was in Senegal to bring forward her programme to promote the human rights for a peaceful, secure and strong Africa. During her stay she organised a day of reflection to find ways how to promote human rights by the means of music. Many local artists and from abroad (Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Gambia), as well as the NGO’s Tostan and Orchid Project and the TV channel Africa 7 participated at this day of reflection. The reunion was very informative. The main point on the agenda was the abandonment of Female Genital Cutting and the impact this practice has on the rights of woman and girls. In succession it was discussed which role the artists and the young generation could take in the sensitization work for the abandonment of this practice. This meeting was part of the preparations for the sensitization tour of Sister Fa & Band in April and May 2012 in Senegal.

Sister Fa has taken enormous personal risks to champion the rights of women and girls in West Africa. One of the most widely recognised female rap artists in Senegal, she has devoted her life’s work to raising awareness of the dangers of female genital mutilation, a practice, in theory, has been outlawed by the state, but which in fact, continues across Africa and infringes on the basic rights of women and girls. Using her music to speak out, Sister Fa encourages women to educate themselves and to create a movement for social change.

As a Senegalese woman voicing her objection to a deeply engrained tradition, Sister Fa faces numerous challenges in promoting her music. But through persistent courage and risk taking, she continues rapping about human rights, HIV/AIDS and immigration and has carved out a place in Senegalese music. At the age of three she underwent female genital mutilation in a communal ceremony and even now recalls the ‘pain and the blood’ of the experience. Many do not take kindly to her speaking out against tradition, but she believes that she can use her music to help the young people – who are the future of Senegal – to understand that they are not alone.

She continues to advocate for community discussion around rights of women and attempts to dispel widely accepted ideas surrounding the practice. Sister Fa remains true to her musical talent whilst widely communicating a positive message of social change. She has inspired thousands of women and men to reconsider harmful social norms and choose a better future for themselves and their children. As a Senegalese woman who has undergone genital mutilation, her message is even more powerful and demonstrates that change from within is not only possible, but necessary.

Dit non à l'excision

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