Zéna M'Déré

Who is Zéna M'Déré?

Zéna M'Déré was born in Pamandzi, Mayotte, sometime between 1917 and 1922; her exact birth year is not precisely recorded. As a young woman she moved to Antsiranana in northern Madagascar, where she ran a Koranic school, before being expelled by Malagasy President Philibert Tsiranana in 1966 amid rising political tension. She returned to her native Mayotte just as the political split between Mayotte and the rest of the Comoro archipelago was intensifying ahead of the territory's push for independence. In 1966 she became the leading figure of a grassroots women's movement that opposed Mayotte joining an independent Comoros and instead demanded the island remain part of the French Republic. This movement became known as the Chatouilleuses ("the ticklers") for its unconventional tactic of surrounding and tickling pro-independence officials into compliance, alongside other forms of civil disobedience such as pelting opponents' rooftops with stones at night to keep them awake. Mayotte's population ultimately voted in the 1974 and 1976 referendums to remain French while the other three Comoro Islands became independent. In recognition of her role, M'Déré was made a Knight of the French Legion of Honour in 1991 and promoted to Officer in July 1999, shortly before her death on 27 October 1999. In 2012 she was honoured on a commemorative 10-euro coin issued by the Monnaie de Paris.

Sources: Zéna M'Déré, Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zéna_M'Déré · Grandes figures des Outre-mer: Zéna M'déré, Outremers360, outremers360.com · Zéna M'déré, une figure de résistance toujours célébrée à Mayotte, Le Journal de Mayotte, lejournaldemayotte.yt