Sira Diop

Sira Diop née Sakiliba Sissiki (31 March 1929 – 17 November 2013) was a Malian educator, feminist and trade unionist.

The first woman to pass the Sudanese baccalauréat in 1950, as a teacher she ultimately became headmistress of the Malian lycée (high school) for girls (1962–65).

[1][2][3] Born on 31 March 1929 in Ségou, Sakiliba Sissoko graduated as a teacher from the Normal School in Rufisque, Senegal,[3] and went on to become the first woman in Mali to pass the Sudanese baccalauréat in 1950 and the first to become a primary school inspector in 1961.

Internationally, in the 1970s she worked with UNESCO, UNICEF and the World Health Organization.

In 2005, she received the distinction of Grand Officier of the National Order of Mali (2005).