Jaha Dukureh

Jaha Dukureh is the founder of Safe Hands for Girls, a nonprofit organization working to protect young women and girls who are at risk of female genital mutilation (FGM). For her outstanding work on women's rights and advocating against FGM, she was named TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential People for 2016, was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018, and called one of the 100 most influential Africans of 2017 by New African magazine. Herself a survivor of FGM and forced into child marriage at age 15, Jaha successfully contributed to President Obama’s administration investigating the profile of FGM in the USA and the subsequent Summit to End FGM at the United States Institute of Peace.  Alongside women’s organizations and civil society, Jaha has also contributed to the Gambian Government announcing a ban on FGM through youth mobilization and campaigning in Gambia. 

I WILL SCREAM TO THE WORLD (Memoir, Published: Dafine-Kensington Books)

On the wedding night of her first arranged marriage, fifteen-year-old Jaha learned that she had undergone Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) as an infant. That painful discovery, coupled with her experiences with a second arranged marriage, set Jaha on her path as an activist—a courageous mission that would require her to brave hostility in her community and family, and even attempts on her life.

Despite the challenges, and with ever-growing determination, Jaha founded Safe Hands for Girls, an organization that succeeded in having FGM banned in Gambia. She is now working to eradicate FGM and forced child marriage worldwide by 2030 and running to be the next President of The Gambia.

I Will Scream to the World! recounts Jaha’s ongoing, uphill journey to be seen as a survivor, activist, but most of all as a human. She dives into her childhood to show the root causes of her crusading, shares her personal and professional life, and explores, as only a survivor can, a practice that while violent and troubling, is often culturally misunderstood.

Above all, Jaha’s unflinchingly honest memoir is a story of resilience and extraordinary fearlessness, of the strength that comes with learning to love oneself, and of the power within everyone to create meaningful and lasting change.

Rights Sold: World
Rights Available: Inquire
Agent: Zeynep Sen