Born in
Kati on 4 November 1944, Sissoko was originally of
Mandinka origin. Her parents were Adama Sissoko and Wali Diallo. She attended primary school in Senegal, France, and Ivory Coast and attended secondary school in France and Belgium. In 1963, she married
Moussa Traoré and converted to Islam. She had five children with Traoré. She worked as a bilingual secretary for French and English at the embassies of Mali in Tanzania and the United States and at the Ministry of National Education. Following the
1968 coup d'état, Traoré became
President of Mali, making Sissoko the First Lady. During the first decade of her husband's presidency, Sissoko took a background role as
Tiécoro Bagayoko and
Kissima Doukara were the President's primary aides. However, in 1974 she founded the
Union nationale des femmes du Mali, of which she served as honorary president until 1991. She also led several humanitarian organizations, such as the
Centre des handicapés physiques, the
Institut des jeunes aveugles, and the
Association des femmes commerçantes et entrepreneures du Mali. She also set up a family farm outside
Baguinéda-Camp thanks to assistance from
Ivorian President Félix Houphouët-Boigny. Following the
1991 coup d'état, the role of First Lady was vacated and Sissoko was arrested and sent to Djicoroni. Sissoko died in
Bamako on 8 October 2024, at the age of 79. ==References==