Marthe Wandou

Marthe Wandou is a Cameroonian activist working to improve the wellbeing of girls and women, including survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.
Through community-based intervention, she has campaigned to change harmful cultural practices, such as early marriage, giving girls more options for their future. She has also assisted survivors of violence by the Boko Haram extremist group operating in the Lake Chad Basin, cementing her as one of the leading voices for the protection of girls and women in the region.
Through her organisation Action Locale pour un Développement Participatif et Autogéré (ALDEPA), which she founded in 1998, Wandou has supported the wellbeing of girls through a holistic approach based on education, psychosocial care and legal assistance.