Jaha Dukureh

Jaha Dukureh (born 1989 or 1990)[1][2] is a Gambian women’s right activist and anti-female genital mutilation campaigner.[1] She is the founder and executive director of Safe Hands for Girls, an organization working to end FGM,[3] and is the lead campaigner in The Guardian's End FGM Guardian Global Media Campaign.[4] In April 2016, she was named to the 2016 Time 100 list.[5]

Early life

Dukureh was born in The Gambia. She was subjected to Type III female genital mutiliation when she was one week old.[1] After her mother's death, she moved to New York City for an arranged marriage at the age of 15.[1] After experiencing severe pain during intercourse, she underwent surgery to undo the infibulation, which she likened to "[going] through the FGM all over again".[1][2] Dukureh's marriage dissolved and she moved in with family members. She managed to enrol in a New York City high school after being rejected from ten other schools because she did not have the consent of a legal guardian.[1] At 17, she moved to Atlanta and remarried.[1]

Dukureh earned a Bachelor's degree in business administration management at Georgia Southwestern State University in 2013.[6] That year, she founded Safe Hands for Girls, an anti-FGM non-profit organization.[7] Dukureh became an American citizen in late 2015.[2]

Dukureh's activism led to the banning of female genital mutilation in The Gambia.[8][7]

Dukureh currently resides in Atlanta.[1] The Guardian is developing a film about Dukureh's life.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Topping, Alexandra (12 May 2014). "Jaha Dukureh: 'In Washington, they don't want to talk about vaginas'". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Somra, Gena (4 January 2016). "One woman's journey to American Dream includes a crusade". CNN. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  3. ↑ http://www.safehandsforgirls.org/
  4. 1 2 Daly, Claire (21 April 2016). "Time 100: FGM campaigner Jaha Dukureh makes prestigious list". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  5. ↑ Orenstein, Peggy (21 April 2016). "Jaha Dukureh". TIME. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  6. ↑ Bonds Staples, Gracies (21 April 2016). "Time magazine honors Atlanta woman's fight to end genital mutilation". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  7. 1 2 Mourgere, Isabelle (19 May 2016). "La militante anti-excision, Jaha Dukureh, au top 100 du Time magazine" [Anti-FGM activist Jaha Dukureh in the Time top 100]. TV5Monde (in French). Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  8. ↑ Lyons, Kate (24 November 2015). "The Gambia bans female genital mutilation". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
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