Jaha Dukureh is the founder and CEO of Safe Hands for Girls.
Jaha started Safe Hands out of her living room after realizing that there were so many girls like her in her community and the need for a survivor led movement. Jaha is very passionate about seeing African women leading their own struggles and equipping them with tools and resources they need to do that. As a women’s rights activist, she has used her expertise to advise governments, civil society, and media houses as one of the world’s foremost international activists working to end FGM using the media.
Jaha was recently nominated for The Nobel Peace Prize by a Norwegian politician JetteChristenssen who met Jaha during the launch of her film ‘Jaha’s Promise’ in 2017.
The film is about how Jaha – a victim of FGM and early marriage – rallied support to challenge the age old tradition of female circumcision in the tiny West African country that has a predominantly Muslim population.
She has also gained recognition as one of The 100 Most Influential Africans by New African Magazine, Humanitarian of the Year by Applause Africa, and Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential people in the world. JahaDukureh led the successful campaigns that have helped change laws both in The US and The Gambia.
She is also responsible for the first national survey in the US to measure the level of FGM carried out by FGM practicing diaspora in the United States. Jaha has experience of working with young people and running media campaign academies against FGM in Kenya and the Gambia.
She has also worked strategically with world leaders, survivors, youths, media and religious leaders and has specialized on the use of grassroots activism and the use of media tactics in rural regions. Her next venture is launching, The Big Sister Movement with fellow African women, running grassroots organizations to end FGM and early childhood marriage across the continent.