Jaha Dukureh (born 1989 or 1990)
is a
Gambian women's right activist and anti-
female genital mutilation campaigner.
Dukureh was subjected to female genital mutilation in The Gambia when she was a little more than a week old.
She is the founder and executive director of Safe Hands for Girls, an organization working to end FGM, and was 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. Dukureh was nominated for the
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...
in February 2018, has won the Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Medal,
and is a
UN Women
The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, is a United Nations entity working for gender equality and the empowerment of women. UN Women advocates for the rights of women and girls, and foc ...
Goodwill Ambassador for Africa. A feature film about Jaha's life was released by Accidental Pictures and ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''.
Life
Dukureh was born in The Gambia. She was subjected to
Type III female genital mutilation when she was one week old.
After her mother's death, she moved to New York City at the age of 15 for an
arranged marriage that had been planned years earlier.
After experiencing difficulty consummating her marriage, she underwent surgery to undo the infibulation, which she likened to "
oingthrough the FGM all over again".
Dukureh's marriage dissolved and she moved in with family members. She managed to enroll in a New York City high school after being rejected by 10 other schools because she did not have the consent of a legal guardian.
At 17, she moved to
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
, and remarried.
Dukureh earned a
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in business administration management at
Georgia Southwestern State University
Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) is a public university in Americus, Georgia. It is part of the University System of Georgia and offers bachelor's degree programs along with selected master's and specialist degree programs.
History
G ...
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 also has a
Master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. in Non-Profit Management from The
University of Central Florida
The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...
in 2018.
Dukureh's activism led to the banning of female genital mutilation in The Gambia.
Dukureh currently resides in Atlanta.
''The Guardian'' developed the documentary film ''
Jaha's Promise'', which premiered in 2017.
2021 presidential campaign
On 13 October 2021, Dukureh announced her bid to stand as a candidate in the
2021 Gambian presidential election
Presidential elections were held in the Gambia on 4 December 2021. The result was a victory for incumbent President Adama Barrow of the National People's Party, who received 53% of the vote, defeating five other candidates.
Electoral system
The ...
for the
, having joined the party in March 2021. Dukureh's campaign was ultimately unsuccessful, with
Halifa Sallah
Halifa Sallah (born 1953) is a Gambian politician who is currently a member of the National Assembly representing Serekunda, and the secretary-general of the People's Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS). He served as a s ...
being selected to stand as the PDOIS candidate in November 2021.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dukureh, Jaha
Activists against female genital mutilation
Gambian health activists
20th-century births
Year of birth uncertain
Living people