Ubah Ali | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1996 (age 27–28) |
| Education | University of Stirling American University of Beirut |
| Occupation | Somali activist |
| Awards | BBC's 100 Women List |
Ubah Ali (born 1996) is a social activist and feminist from Somaliland, who campaigns against female genital mutilation. In 2020, she was listed by the BBC as one of the world's most influential 100 Women. [1]
Ali was born in 1996 in Burco in the Toghdeer region of Somaliland. [2] Her parents are both primary school dropouts: her father worked as a cab driver until he had a stroke in 2012, and her mother used to sell clothes. [3] It was her mother who encouraged Ali's education and for her to apply for scholarships. [4] She studied at the Abaarso School of Science and Technology from 2011 and left there in 2015. [5] She then moved to Miss Hall's School and graduated from there in 2016. [6] As of 2019, she was studying for a BA degree in Politics and Human Rights at the American University of Beirut. [2] Her undergraduate study is funded by the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program. [3] Whilst studying there, she also tutors Syrian refugees. [5]
In 2015, aged 18, Ali established an organization called Rajo: Hope for Somaliland Community with the aim of providing educational opportunities for orphans and under-privileged students from Somaliland. [6] This was inspired by work she undertook at the Hargeisa Orphanage Centre, between 2012 and 2015, where she tutored students. [6] In 2015 she also fundraised for communities in Somaliland affected by drought. [5]
In 2020, Ali became more widely known due to her campaigning against female genital mutilation (FGM) in Somaliland. [2] In 2018 she founded the Solace for Somaliland Girls Foundation, which aims to end the practice through education and awareness campaigns. [2] The group established the first anti-FGM group in Somaliland as a result. [4] Whilst many Somali people associate FGM with Sharia, Ali alongside doctors and a growing number of religious leaders believe it to be a cultural phenomenon, which can be altered. [2] Ali, as well as her three sisters, are survivors of FGM. [2]
In 2020, Ubah Ali was part of the BBC’s list of the 100 most influential women in the world. [7] [8]
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the vulva. The practice is found in some countries of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, and within their respective diasporas. As of 2023, UNICEF estimates that "at least 200 million girls... in 31 countries"—including Indonesia, Iraq, Yemen, and 27 African countries including Egypt—had been subjected to one or more types of FGM.
Efua Dorkenoo, OBE, affectionately known as "Mama Efua", was a Ghanaian-British campaigner against female genital mutilation (FGM) who pioneered the global movement to end the practice and worked internationally for more than 30 years to see the campaign "move from a problem lacking in recognition to a key issue for governments around the world."
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International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation is a United Nations-sponsored annual awareness day that takes place on February 6 as part of the UN's efforts to eradicate female genital mutilation. It was first introduced in 2003.
There is a widespread view among practitioners of female genital mutilation (FGM) that it is a religious requirement, although prevalence rates often vary according to geography and ethnic group. There is an ongoing debate about the extent to which the practice's continuation is influenced by custom, social pressure, lack of health-care information, and the position of women in society. The procedures confer no health benefits and can lead to serious health problems.
Abaarso School of Science and Technology (Abaarso School) is a non-profit, co-educational boarding school in Abaarso, located in Maroodi Jeex, Somaliland. Its campus lies 18 km (11 mi) west of the provincial capital of Hargeisa. Abaarso was only a secondary school until 2013, when it first began to run an intermediate school as well. The school now ranges from grades 7-12, with a post-graduate option. There are approximately 120 students in the upper school and 98 in the lower school.
Comfort Iyabo Amah Momoh, is a British midwife who specializes in the treatment of female genital mutilation (FGM). Born in Nigeria, Momoh is a member of the British FGM national clinical group, established in 2007 to train health professionals in how to deal with the practice. Until 2017 she served as a public-health specialist at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust in London. She is the editor of Female Genital Mutilation (2005).
Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting (FGC), female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision, is practiced in 30 countries in western, eastern, and north-eastern Africa, in parts of the Middle East and Asia, and within some immigrant communities in Europe, North America and Australia. The WHO defines the practice as "all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons."
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Female genital mutilation in the United Kingdom is the ritual removal of some or all of the external female genitalia of women and girls living in the UK. According to Equality Now and City University London, an estimated 103,000 women and girls aged 15–49 were thought to be living with female genital mutilation (FGM) in England and Wales as of 2011.
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