Sarraounia means queen or chiefess. Among the Azna people of Lougou and surrounding Hausa towns and villages, the term refers to a lineage of female rulers who exercised both political and religious power. Queen Sarraounia of the Aznas in Africa fought French colonists in 1899. Queen Sarraounia mobilized her people and resources, military as well as magical, to confront the French force who had launched a fierce attack on her fortress capital of Lougou.

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THE SARRAOUNIA TRUST is a not-for-profit public health agency based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Established in 2008 we work at the cutting edge of development and change in public health. Constituted as a committed group of diverse women practitioners with a wide range of public health expertise and experience in development.