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Remembering our friend and colleague, Efua Dorkenoo
un articulo por Equality Now
Video: Efua Dorkenoo on FGM in Africa
It is with great sadness that I share with you the passing of our dear
friend and colleague Efua Dorkenoo, OBE. Efua passed away from
cancer on Saturday, 18 October in London, England. For more than
three decades, “Mama Efua” was a pioneering leader in the global
movement to end female genital mutilation and an outstanding
champion for women and girls around the world. 
Efua Dorkenoo
click on photo to enlarge
Efua emigrated from her native Ghana to England in the 1960s. She
was a trained bio-social scientist in public health and an honorary
Senior Research Fellow at the School of Health Sciences at City
University, London. From 1995-2001, she worked as the World
Health Organization’s (WHO) first technical expert at their Geneva
headquarters and assisted the organization in introducing female
genital mutilation (FGM) onto the agendas of the Ministries of
Health of WHO Member States. Her groundbreaking work on the
issue contributed to international recognition of FGM as a public
health and a human rights issue.
Efua was awarded the British State Honours, OBE (Order of the
British Empire), by the British Queen in recognition of her work as
the founder of the NGO FORWARD and for her campaign work
against FGM. In 2000, along with Gloria Steinem, she received
Equality Now’s international human rights award for her lifelong
activism on the issue of women’s rights. Efua’s 1994 book, Cutting
the Rose: Female Genital Mutilation, The Practice and its Prevention,
was considered a first on FGM and was selected by an international
jury for inclusion on the 2002 prestigious book list, “Africa 100 Best
Books for the 20th Century.”
While we are heartbroken at her passing, we are also consoled by
the fact that Efua got to see her work gain momentum over the
years. In her roles as Advocacy Director and, later, Senior Advisor to
Equality Now's FGM program, her efforts helped transform the UK's
response to the issue. Just this year, the UK government announced
the first ever prosecution of the crime, and less than two weeks
ago, the government dedicated significant resources to tackling
both FGM and forced marriage. Since January, she headed an
Africa-led campaign committed to ending FGM within a generation,
The Girl Generation: Together to End FGM, which launched earlier
this month. None of these milestones would have been possible
without Efua’s steadfast leadership, passion and her ability to
inspire others.
It was our deepest privilege to have worked with Efua. Our thoughts
are with her family and friends – particularly her husband Freddie,
her sons Kobina and Ebow, and her stepchildren Galvin, Fummi and
Yanik. May she rest in peace.
(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article.)
(Click here for a Spanish version of this article and here for a French version)
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Protecting women and girls against violence, Is progress being made?
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The 47 CPNN articles devoted to this theme suggest that indeed progress is being made.
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