About Me

Farida Bemba Nabourema is a Pan-African activist and prominent voice in the struggle against dictatorship in Togo and across the African continent. As the founder of the Faure Must Go movement, she has become a leading figure in the resistance against the Gnassingbé dynasty, which has ruled Togo for decades. Known for her unapologetic stance against authoritarianism, she champions civil disobedience and the refusal to submit to oppressive systems.

In addition to her political activism, Farida is a trailblazer in the African Bitcoin ecosystem. She is the founder of the Africa Bitcoin Conference, the continent’s largest gathering of Bitcoin innovators, builders, and freedom fighters. Through this platform, she has emerged as a respected voice in the Bitcoin space, using her influence to highlight how Bitcoin can be a tool for human rights, financial inclusion, and economic liberation.

Farida believes that Bitcoin offers Africans a powerful alternative to corrupt financial systems and centralized regimes that weaponize money to control and repress populations. For her, Bitcoin is not just a currency; it’s a form of resistance. It empowers individuals to escape censorship, preserve wealth in times of inflation, and access global markets without intermediaries.

Holding degrees in International Relations and Conflict Prevention, Farida has been recognized for her expertise in security and gender justice, and was named one of the 100 most influential people in gender policy by Apolitical in 2021 and listed among the 100 Most Influential African Women respectively in 2019 and 2024. Farida has worked extensively in the development space leading several think tanks and nonprofit organizations and is the current Executive Director of the Katutu Civil Rights Center. She has served as a senior fellow at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) and as a visiting scholar at both the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University and the Sie Cheou Kang Center at the University of Denver.

Author of La Pression de l’Oppression (2014), she has contributed to The New York Times, Forbes, World Politics Review, African Arguments, and more. She sits on the boards of several international institutions, including the Gender Institute at Royal Holloway University, the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI), the Gender Centre for Empowering Development (GenCED), and the Finney Freedom Prize of the Human Rights Foundation.

In her forthcoming book, Melancholy of the Oppressed, Farida delves into the emotional and psychological toll of repression and the unyielding pursuit of justice. The book is both a personal reflection and a rallying cry for dignity, resilience, and the power of collective resistance.