Women in Mali’s artisanal mines trapped by poverty and danger
Six women lost their lives on January 9, 2026, in Kéniéty, Kéniéba district, after a devastating landslide buried them alive. This heartbreaking incident exposes a harsh truth: extreme poverty is forcing mothers into life-threatening situations just to survive.
Mothers risking everything to feed their families
For women in Mali’s artisanal mining sites, danger is not a choice—it’s a grim necessity. With no other way to provide for their families, they endure brutal working conditions to scrape out a living. In the Kayes region, it’s common to see women laboring under scorching sun for over 12 hours a day, extracting mere grams of gold to barely make ends meet.
These women are often relegated to the most hazardous sections of mining sites, abandoned pits and unstable tunnels deemed too risky by male miners. The most vulnerable zones—those left behind by larger operations—become their workplace, and in many cases, their grave when unstable walls collapse.
The hidden dangers of artisanal mining
The risks extend far beyond landslides. Due to their economic vulnerability, these women face severe health hazards, including exposure to toxic substances like mercury, leading to irreversible illnesses. Their precarious situation also makes them easy targets for gender-based violence and exploitation on these sites.
The tragedy in Kéniéty, where six women—two of them married—were killed while scraping the walls of an abandoned Chinese mine, highlights this cycle of despair. Despite swift rescue efforts by local teams, the sheer weight of the earth proved too much to overcome.
Breaking the cycle of poverty and danger
For communities in Dialafara, abandoned mines pose a severe public safety threat. When mining companies leave behind gaping craters, the poorest populations—especially women—are left with no choice but to risk their lives searching for gold. Systematic backfilling of exhausted mines is now a critical demand to prevent further tragedies.
Beyond securing mining sites, the focus must shift to economic empowerment. Military transition authorities and social services must prioritize programs that help women transition into safer, sustainable income-generating activities. Without real alternatives to gold mining, poverty will continue to claim lives in Mali’s unstable mines.
