Gender equality starts at home: Five ways to drive change within the family
At 8 years old, Ifrah Ahmed underwent FGM at the hands of a family member, suffering pain and discomfort through much of her life as a result. After fleeing conflict in her home country of Somalia and arriving in Ireland as a refugee, she learned from medical professionals and other survivors more about the harm caused by the practice—and has now devoted her life to eradicating it .
In 2010 she co-founded the Ifrah foundation and has partnered with projects and experts around the world to drive change. With UN Women’s support, the foundation is working on public events to educate communities on the harm of the practice and call on families to commit to not cutting their daughters.
Another of the foundation’s campaigns, created in partnership with UNFPA, is focused specifically on appealing to mothers as empowering forces in their daughters’ lives.
“Mothers, sisters, grandmothers say that if they have been through FGM, their daughter should do the same. It’s the mentality,” Ifrah said. She’s working to change that mentality through the Dear Daughters campaign, whichinvites mothers to write down their stories of FGM and commit to end the cycle by not allowing the same to happen to their daughters.
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