Mae Azango is a Liberian journalist for ''

FrontPage Africa ''FrontPage Africa'' is a Liberian daily newspaper founded in 2005 by Rodney Sieh. As of 2012, it had a circulation of 1,500. ''FrontPage Africa'' has received international recognition for its investigative journalism, and the ''Christian Scienc ...

''. She is particularly known for her reports on female genital mutilation (FGM), which helped suspend the practice in the nation. In 2012, she was awarded the International Press Freedom Award of the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Early life

Azango is the daughter of Robert G.W. Azango, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia. In 1990, during the First Liberian Civil War, he was dragged from the family home during breakfast and beaten by members of Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia, later dying in jail from his injuries. Mae Azango gave birth to her first child during the war, at the age of 18. Forced to use a traditional midwife, Azango stated that the superstitious midwife beat her during the birth and accused her of being an adulteress. Azango later became a refugee.

Journalism

Azango returned to Liberia in 2002 and began work as a journalist. Topics of her reporting included abortion,

illegal mining Illegal mining is mining activity that is undertaken without state permission, in particular in absence of land rights, mining licenses, and exploration or mineral transportation permits. Illegal mining can be a subsistence activity, as is the ca ...

, rape,

teen pregnancy Teenage pregnancy, also known as adolescent pregnancy, is pregnancy in a female adolescent or young adult under the age of 20. This includes those who are legally considered adults in their country. The WHO defines adolescence as the period bet ...

, and work conditions on projects funded in Liberia by Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi. In 2011, she documented the rape of a 13-year-old girl by a police officer, causing him to later be arrested.

Reporting on female genital mutilation

Azango is best known for her reporting on FGM, a traditional practice in which the clitoris and part of the labia are amputated, often in unsanitary conditions, by members of the secret

Sande society Sande, also known as zadεgi, bundu, bundo and bondo, is a women's initiation society in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and the Ivory Coast. The Sande society initiates girls into adulthood by rituals including female genital mutilation. It is ...

. An estimated 58% of Liberian women went through some form of the procedure. Azango wrote her first story on the topic in 2010. Explaining her choice to write on the "taboo" topic, she stated, "A lot of people don't have a voice. If I don't write about it, how will people know about it?" On 8 March 2012— International Women's Day—she published a story in '' Front Page Africa'' telling of a woman who was held down by five other women while her clitoris was amputated. The story detailed the procedure, which the Sande consider secret. The paper received so many threats the day that the story appeared that Azango's editor, Wade Williams, called to tell her to go into hiding. The threats included that Azango herself would be "caught and cut". After local police failed to take action against the threats, Azango went into hiding, sending her nine-year-old daughter to stay with relatives. The

Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American independent non-profit, non-governmental organization, based in New York City, New York, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journ ...

(CPJ), a US-based press NGO, called on Liberian president

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (born Ellen Eugenia Johnson, 29 October 1938) is a Liberian politician who served as the 24th president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018. Sirleaf was the first elected female head of state in Africa. Sirleaf was born in Monro ...

to issue Azango protection and guarantee her safety. Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders also issued statements of support, as did the

Columbia Journalism School The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights, Manhattan, Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is ...

and the International Federation of Journalists. Radio journalist Tetee Gebro of the Liberian station

Sky FM Sky FM is an independent radio station based in Monrovia, Liberia, broadcasting on FM 107. Its director is T.max Jlateh, who also hosts a morning talk and news program, ''50-50''. In 2012, after ''FrontPage Africa'' reporter Mae Azango was threate ...

broadcast a version of Azango's story in a show of solidarity. Before the end of the month, in part due to domestic and international pressure sparked by the incident, Sirleaf's government announced that it had agreed with traditional leaders that the practice of FGM would be officially suspended. The statement was the first time Liberian politicians had publicly criticized the practice of FGM.

Awards

In 2011, Azango won a grant from the US-based

Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting is an American news media organization established in 2006 that sponsors independent reporting on global issues that other media outlets are less willing or able to undertake on their own. The center's goal ...

for her work on "under-reported stories" in "human interest and developmental journalism". Following the FGM controversy, Azango was announced as a winner of the 2012

CPJ International Press Freedom Awards The CPJ International Press Freedom Awards honor journalists or their publications around the world who show courage in defending press freedom despite facing attacks, threats, or imprisonment. Established in 1991, the awards are administered by ...

. The award recognizes journalists who show courage in defending press freedom despite facing attacks, threats, or imprisonment. Also in 2012, Azango won one of

Canadian Journalists for Free Expression Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) is a Canadian non-governmental organization supported by Canadian journalists and advocates of freedom of expression. The purpose of the organization is to defend the rights of journalists and co ...

's International Press Freedom Award. The awards are presented annually to journalists who have demonstrated their commitment to

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

and honest reporting, and who have overcome tremendous obstacles in their work. The award is presented at the CJFE Gala: A Night to Honour Courageous Reporting, held in Toronto, Canada.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Azango, Mae Activists against female genital mutilation Living people Liberian journalists Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Liberian women activists Liberian refugees Liberian women writers 21st-century Liberian writers 21st-century Liberian women writers Liberian health activists Liberian women's rights activists Violence against women in Liberia