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In honor of #womensmonth we've decided to honor some amazing women who are kicking butts, taking names, while making an impact in their communities, and around the world.
Jaha Dukureh is an activist and a Nobel Peace Prize nominee who advocates against female genital mutilation and child marriages throughout the world. Ms. Dukereh was genitally mutilated as a baby and was forced into marriage at the age of 15. In February 2019, she was assigned Regional UN Women Ambassador for Africa. According to the UN Women, "Ms. Dukureh dedicates her efforts to support UN Women’s advocacy to end female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriage in Africa, with focus on mobilizing youth." Ms. Dukureh is the founder and CEO of her nongovernmental organization "Safe Hands for Girls". This organization supports survivors of female genital mutilation and addresses the devastating physical and psychological effect FGM has on African women and girls.
Ms. Dukureh's campaign and youth mobilization led to her work with the Gambian Government in banning female genital mutilation. Moreover, she contributed to President Obama’s administration in profiling female genital mutilation in the US and the Summit ending female genital mutilation at the United States Institute of Peace. In 2016, Ms. Dukureh was made the Time's 100 list of the most influential people in the world as well as one of the 100 most influential Africans of 2017 by New African magazine for her activism. In 2017, Ms. Dukureh was given the “Human rights activist, and Humanitarian of the Year” at the seventh annual African Diaspora Awards, and the next year, she was named one of the top 100 gender global policy influencers by Apolitical. Ms. Dukureh is changing the lives of many women and girls who had to suffer the lifelong, devastating effect of FGM and helping to make sure other girls and women are not subjected to this kind of torture.
