She’s not even 40, yet she has been UN Women Goodwill Ambassador for Africa on ending female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriage, founded Safe Hands for Girls, and has successfully campaigned for FGM to be banned in The Gambia. 

Jaha was subjected to type III FGM in the Gambia when only a week old and even today Unicef estimates three-quarters of Gambian women, and up to 98% of Somalian women, have experienced FGM.

Figure 1 Location of The Gambia from Wikipedia

The Gambia is a West African country, the smallest in continental Africa with a population of 2.5 million. It’s capital is Banjul, its population is almost exclusively Islamic, its main export is peanuts/groundnuts and it’s official language is English. It is largely surrounded by Senegal although it has a small Atlantic coastline, known for its beaches. The main character of Alex Haley’s book Roots – The Saga of an American Family, Kunta Kinte was from Jufureh, which benefitted from an influx of tourists after its publication in 1976.

I clearly remember watching the TV adaptation of Roots in the late 1970s. I was too young to know much about The Gambia, but was fascinated by the complete contrast to Scotland. Maybe that’s what led to me choosing to study Anthropology for two years as part of my Undergraduate degree at Glasgow University. Who knows.

The Gambia banned FGM in 2015 but only two women have been convicted and in March 2024 a bill to reverse the ruling was presented to the Assembly. Although the vote has been postponed, there is strong pressure from religious leaders to reinstate the practice, with lawmaker Almammeh Gibba saying that it should continue to “uphold religious purity and safeguard cultural norms and values” https://time.com/6981349/gambia-africa-female-genital-mutilation-fgm-fgc/

Promoting reform without destroying tradition is a delicate tightrope to walk in countries where ritual is strongly embedded in cultural celebrations of transition and status. In The Gambia, child marriage is commonplace and FGM is traditionally seen as part of maintaining a girl – and her family’s – honour. 

Jaha Dukureh continues to campaign, and in 2017 a documentary-drama about her life (Jaha’s Promise) was premiered at the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival. 

I wanted to make a stained glass portrait of Jaha to highlight her work. I used the colours of the Gambian flag as a background – red, blue and green.

I chose a bright blue opaque glass for the headscarf and face, in contrast to the transparent glass used for the flag. I drew Jaha Dukureh’s striking silhouette  It’s framed in zinc and has a chain for hanging. You can see one of the photos I used for inspiration below. 

I love this piece, it’s strong and striking. I hope the law in the Gambia isn’t repealed but they have a lot of work to do to convince the lawmakers.

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