In a narrative threaded with trauma, resilience, and unwavering determination, Jaha Dukureh has emerged from the shadows of her past to become one of Africa’s most influential champions for women’s bodily autonomy.
Born around 1989 in The Gambia, Jaha endured the most severe form of female genital mutilation (FGM) just over a week after birth and was forced into an arranged marriage at age 15, a fate that would take her to New York City.
Her escape from this life of confinement marked the beginning of a journey toward healing, education, and advocacy.
Arriving in the U.S., she overcame institutional obstacles—rejected by multiple schools for lacking a guardian’s consent—yet undeterred, she enrolled and continued her education, eventually earning a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from Georgia Southwestern State University (2013) and a Master’s in Non-Profit Management from the University of Central Florida (2018).
In 2013, armed with conviction and lived experience, she founded Safe Hands for Girls, a survivor-led organization dedicated to ending Female genital mutilation(FGM) and child marriage while supporting survivors with advocacy, community outreach, and healing services.
Fueled by her own story, she became the catalyst for change when her petition prompted the Obama administration to investigate FGM in the U.S., culminating in a landmark Summit to End FGM in 2016.
Her advocacy struck a global chord in April 2016, when she was named one of Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People”.
The following year, her story reached international audiences through the powerful documentary Jaha’s Promise, illuminating her fight to abolish Type III FGM (infibulation) and breaking cultural silence around the crime.
A major victory arrived in 2015 when The Gambia officially banned FGM, a milestone deeply connected to her movement’s momentum.
The success, however, proved fragile—as of 2024, Gambian lawmakers advanced a bill to reverse that ban.
Dukureh responded with fierce resolve, engaging community and religious leaders, educating the public, and organizing protests to uphold protections she fought so hard to secure.
Recognizing her leadership, in February 2018 UN Women appointed her as its Regional Goodwill Ambassador for Africa, a role in which she champions youth mobilization and community-led advocacy in the fight against FGM and child marriage.
She has lent her voice to numerous regional and international forums—from Liberia, where she urged the preservation of cultural heritage while discarding harmful traditions, to the Africa Summit on FGM and child marriage in Senegal in 2019, where she called emphatically for African-led solutions backed by robust support structures. Her advocacy is grounded in a profound belief: that empowerment begins at home, within communities.
“We cannot import solutions and expect change,” she asserts, stressing the need for survivors to lead the movement for lasting progress.
Her accolades are countless and well-earned: a Nobel Peace Prize nomination in 2018, the Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Medal, and recognition as a top influencer by New African magazine, among others.
As reverse legislation threatens the landmark FGM ban in The Gambia—a potentially global first—Dukureh stands undeterred.
She underscores that this is more than a Gambian struggle; it’s a universal rights battle, one that touches the narratives of women and girls everywhere.
In transforming trauma into power, Jaha Dukureh exemplifies the kind of leadership that spans generations: a vision rooted in justice, powered by lived truth, and dedicated to eradicating violence against girls while uplifting their futures.
