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endfgm survivor and activist jaha dukureh
Jaha Dukureh (born 1989 or 1990) is a Gambian women’s right activist and anti-female genital mutilation campaigner. She is the founder and executive director of Safe Hands for Girls, an organization working to end FGM, and is the lead campaigner in The Guardian's End FGM Guardian Global Media Campaign. In April 2016, she was named to the 2016 Time 100 list.
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National press club jaha dukureh
Early life
Dukureh was born in The Gambia. She was subjected to Type III female genital mutiliation when she was one week old. After her mother's death, she moved to New York City for an arranged marriage at the age of 15. After experiencing severe pain during intercourse, she underwent surgery to undo the infibulation, which she likened to "[going] through the FGM all over again". 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. At 17, she moved to Atlanta and remarried.
Dukureh earned a Bachelor's degree in business administration management at Georgia Southwestern State University in 2013. That year, she founded Safe Hands for Girls, an anti-FGM non-profit organization. Dukureh became an American citizen in late 2015.
Dukureh's activism led to the banning of female genital mutilation in The Gambia.
Dukureh currently resides in Atlanta. The Guardian is developing a film about Dukureh's life.
