Minister · Economist · Peacebuilder · Mammy Saio

Hi, I'm Isata.

I was born in Rural Village, Ribbi Chiefdom, Moyamba District — a community that shaped everything I believe about dignity, resilience, and what it means to truly belong to a place and its people.

Today I serve as Sierra Leone's Minister of Gender and Children's Affairs. But before the ministry, before the lecture halls and the UN forums — I was Mammy Saio. And that story is where everything begins.

Read My Story → What I'm Fighting For →

Dr. Isata Mahoi — Minister of Gender and Children's Affairs of Sierra Leone

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"I've sat in radio studios and UN conference rooms. I've walked barefoot through flooded communities and stood before heads of state. Every single one of those experiences taught me the same thing: the people who need change the most are almost never the ones in the room where decisions get made. My job — my whole life's work — is to change that."

— Dr. Isata Mahoi

Here's how I got here →

Four things you should know about me

I'm not easy to summarize. But if we've just met, start here.

I come from a chiefdom

Ribbi Chiefdom in Moyamba District is where I was formed — not just born. The values I carry into every room, every policy, every decision come from that community. I never let myself forget where I started.

Millions of Sierra Leoneans know my voice

Before I was a minister, I was Mammy Saio — a character in "Atunda Ayenda," a radio drama that used storytelling to explain peace, governance, and rights to communities across the country. That experience taught me that the most powerful policy tool ever invented is a good story.

I use data the way others use arguments

I have a PhD in Economic Policy and an MSc in Development Economics. I didn't earn those degrees to collect them — I use them every day to make sure that when I fight for women and children, I'm fighting with evidence, not just emotion.

I've sat in rooms where people chose peace

As National Coordinator for WANEP-Sierra Leone, I spent years doing the quiet, hard work of peacebuilding — sitting with communities torn apart by tension, listening, mediating, rebuilding. That experience lives in everything I do now.

My story in three moments

A life is too big for a biography. But every life has turning points. Here are three of mine.

The Beginning

"I watched women carry everything — and own nothing."

Growing up in Moyamba, I saw women who worked from before dawn to after dark — farming, raising children, holding communities together. And I saw how little power they had over their own lives. I was a young girl then. But I made a promise I've kept ever since.

Dr. Isata Mahoi at a national policy summit

The Turning Point

"Mammy Saio taught me that stories change people faster than laws do."

When I became Mammy Saio on "Atunda Ayenda," I discovered something I never expected — that a woman's voice, broadcast across Sierra Leone, could move mountains. People would stop me on the street. Tell me the show changed how they thought. I never forgot that. I never will.

Dr. Isata Mahoi reflecting with her team

The Mission

"Every policy I write, I see a face — usually someone from home."

From my first role as an economist to my work at WANEP to the Ministry — the face I see when I'm designing policy is always someone from Moyamba. Someone who deserves better. That's what keeps me honest.

Read the full story →

What drives me

I believe Sierra Leone's future depends on its women and children. Everything I do comes back to that.

Gender equality isn't a "women's issue" to me — it's an economic strategy, a peace strategy, and a human rights imperative all at once. When women thrive, everyone thrives. That's not a slogan. That's what the data shows. And it's what I've seen with my own eyes.

See what I'm working on →

Ending the silence around gender-based violence

Making sure every child in Sierra Leone is protected

Putting women at the centre of peace and economic life

Many know me as...

"Mammy Saio"

Before I held a cabinet portfolio, I held a microphone. "Atunda Ayenda" was a radio drama that reached into homes across Sierra Leone — and I played Mammy Saio, a woman associated with wisdom, community, and care. People loved her. Honestly? I loved her too. She taught me more about leadership than any textbook ever did.

"Mammy Saio wasn't a character I played. She was a version of me I needed to become."

Explore My Journey →

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Atunda Ayenda

"The radio drama that moved a nation"

Broadcast across Sierra Leone · Civic education through storytelling · Peace, community, and belonging

Reflections from me

Speeches, reflections, programme updates, and thoughts from the field.

Dr. Isata Mahoi delivering a keynote address

Reflection

Why I talked about technology on International Women's Day

March 8, 2025

The digital divide isn't a tech problem. It's a power problem. Here's what I said — and why it matters.

Dr. Isata Mahoi during a policy review session

From the Field

What I heard when I came home to Moyamba

November 2024

I went back to listen. Not to speak. Here's what the women there told me — and what I'm doing about it.

Dr. Isata Mahoi meeting with international partners

At the UN

Sierra Leone's voice at the Commission on the Status of Women

February 2025

What I brought to New York, what I said, and what I'm bringing back home.

Read all my reflections →

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I'd love to hear from you.

Whether you want to collaborate, invite me to speak, ask a question, or just say hello — my door is open. I mean that.

Send me a message → Follow my work