Jaha Dukureh

                                                Time Magazine                                                                                            

    Women's rights activist and UN Women Regional Ambassador for Africa, Jaha Dukureh has dedicated her life to fighting for the end of FGM (female genital mutilation) and child marriage. Born in The Gambia, Jaha was subjected to FGM when she was only a little over a week old and when she was 15 years old she was forced into an arranged marriage with a 40-year-old man. Overcoming her traumatic experiences Jaha, who is now 32 years old, is the founder and CEO of the organization "Safe Hands for Girls" which is dedicated to helping young girls who have gone through FGM or are at risk of it.

From Jaha Dukureh's Twitter

Jaha's organization works directly with young girls in The Gambia and in the U.S through school outreach programs, intensive training, and community outreach programs. In their programs and training, they work to bring awareness to FGM, child marriage, and teenpregnancy. As stated in the "Safe Hands for Girls" website, 200 million women and girls are living with the impact of FGM, a large portion of that number includes women and girls in the U.S. In The Gambia and in many other countries throughout Africa, FGM is normalized and considered a religious obligation. The procedure is usually done to girls from ages 2 to 14. Although FGM is now illegal in The Gambia, it is still occurring, that is a big reason why Dukureh is still fighting for its end. 

 

    Jaha's impact has not gone unnoticed, in 2016 she was named on Time's 100 list of influential people (Time Magazine). While founding her organization, Dukureh has also contributed to the Gambian government's ban of FGM after doing multiple campaigns throughout the country. In 2017, a documentary titled "Jaha's Promise" followed Jaha's journey returning to The Gambia where she worked with her organization but also confronted her father and community who support FGM. 

    FGM and child marriage are very serious issues that happen to be overlooked a lot just because they occur more in other countries. Jaha Dukureh has worked very hard for a long time to bring these issues to light and has made tremendous progress in ending FGM. Jaha is still actively working with her organization and is still speaking out against it. While working on this assignment I came across a quote from Jaha that spoke to me, she says "We won't have equality until girls can grow up with control over their own bodies and futures", I hope it sticks with you as well. 

Here is the link to the documentary "Jaha's Promise" if you would like to check it out!

Jaha's Promise

Safe Hands for Girls 

Works Cited 

“Home: Safehandsforgirls.” Safehandsforgirls USA, www.safehandsforgirls.org/.

“Jaha Dukureh.” UN Women, www.unwomen.org/en/partnerships/goodwill-ambassadors/jaha-dukureh.

Orenstein, Peggy. “Jaha Dukureh.” Time, Time, 21 Apr. 2016, time.com/collection-post/4301327/jaha-dukureh-2016-time-100/.