Fatima Bio is a force. I am fascinated by her in as much as I fear for her. Sierra Leone dances on the fringes of progressive democratic principles yet clearly panders to a paternalistic approach to governance where notions of civic autonomy, agency, empowerment and gender equity are severely loose ideologies. Ideologies, we enjoy picking up from time to time, off the mantle of global pressure, to engage with. Despite the immense efforts of local activists and a handful of civil servants who still believe in working for the greater social good, calls for strengthened public institutions, deepened commitment to eradicate extreme poverty and of course, my personal favorite, a push for gender equality as the basis for true economic and social transformation, remain unanswered. Our country almost always halfheartedly responds to these demands and needs. It is from this struggle that the emergence of Fatima Bio is unequivocally disruptive to the st...