Renowned Gambian anti-FGM campaigner and executive director of Safe Hands for Girls, Jaha Dukureh,has assessed the emergence of Covid-19 pandemic put girls at increased risk of harmful practices.
Jaha, who is embarking on 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, observed:
“The COVID19 pandemic may have a negative impact on efforts to eliminate female genital mutilation. With restrictions on mobility during the pandemic, more girls are staying at home, which may increase their risk of being subjected to harmful practices such as FGM and child, early and forced marriage. We need accelerated action”.
Jaha Dukureh is a Gambian women's rights activist and anti-female genital mutilation campaigner. Dukureh was subjected to female genital mutilation in The Gambia. She is the founder and executive director of Safe Hands for Girls, an organization working to end FGM. She also served as the lead campaigner in The Guardian's End FGM Guardian Global Media Campaign. In April 2016, she was listed in the 2016 Time 100 list. She was as well nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in February 2018. She has won the Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Medal,and is a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador for Africa.