Efua Dorkenoo, OBE (6 September 1949 – 18 October 2014), affectionately known as "Mama Efua","Obituaries: Efua Dorkenoo"
''The Times'', 29 October 2014. was a

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

ian-British campaigner against

female genital mutilation Female genital mutilation (FGM) (also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision) is the cutting or removal of some or all of the vulva for non-medical reasons. Prevalence of female ge ...

(FGM) who pioneered the global movement to end the practiceAlexandra Topping
"Efua Dorkenoo OBE, the ‘incredible African female warrior’, has died"
''The Guardian'', 20 October 2014. 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."

Early years

She was born in

Cape Coast Cape Coast is a city and the capital of the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly, Cape Coast Metropolitan District and the Central Region (Ghana), Central Region of Ghana, Ghana. It is located about from Sekondi-Takoradi and approximately from Ac ...

, where she attended Wesley Girls' High School. She moved to London at the age of 19 to study nursing, and eventually earned a master's degree at the

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a public research university in Bloomsbury, central London, and a member institution of the University of London that specialises in public health and tropical medicine. The institu ...

and a research fellowship at

City University London City, University of London was a public university from 1966 to 2024 in London, England. It merged with St George's, University of London to form City St George's, University of London in August 2024. The names "City, University of London" and ...

.Jane Kramer
"Postscript: Efua Dorkenoo, 1949-2014"
''The New Yorker'', 23 October 2014. She was a staff nurse at various hospitals, including the Royal Free, and it was while training as a midwife that she became aware of the impact of FGM on women's lives.

Campaigning work

She joined the Minority Rights Group and travelled to various parts of Africa to gather information for what was one of the earliest reports published on FGM in 1980. In 1983 she founded the

Foundation for Women's Health, Research and Development The Foundation for Women's Health, Research and Development (FORWARD) is a British NGO, founded in 1983 by Efua Dorkenoo, that supports women who have experienced female genital mutilation (FGM) and tries to eliminate the practice. History FORWA ...

(FORWARD), a British NGO that supports women who have experienced FGM and tries to eliminate the practice."About Us"
FORWARD."Efua Dorkenoo"
, Equality Now. She began working with the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

(WHO) in 1995 and was the acting director for women’s health there until 2001.Douglas Martin
"Efua Dorkenoo, Who Campaigned Against Genital Cutting, Dies at 65"
''The New York Times'', 27 october 2014. She was Advocacy Director and, subsequently, Senior FGM Advisor for

Equality Now Equality Now is a non-governmental organization founded in 1992 to advocate for the protection and promotion of the human rights of women and girls. Equality Now works through public policy channels to create a just world for women and girls. Th ...

(an international human rights organization). She was close friends with

Alice Walker Alice Malsenior Tallulah-Kate Walker (born February 9, 1944) is an American novelist, short story writer, poet, and social activist. In 1982, she became the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, which she was awa ...

, advising on and featured in the documentary film ''Warrior Marks'' (1993) made by Walker and Pratibha Parmar and with

Gloria Steinem Gloria Marie Steinem ( ; born March 25, 1934) is an American journalist and social movement, social-political activist who emerged as a nationally recognized leader of second-wave feminism in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. ...

, who wrote an introduction to Dorkenoo's 1994 book ''Cutting the Rose: Female Genital Mutilation''.

Honours and recognition

In 1994, Dorkenoo was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

. In 2000, she and Gloria Steinem received

's international human rights award. In 2012, she was made honorary

senior research fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a p ...

in the School of Health Sciences at

, and in 2013 she was named one of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's 100 Women. Dorkenoo's ''Cutting the Rose: Female Genital Mutilation'' (1994) was selected by an international jury in 2002 as one of "Africa's 100 Best Books of the 20th Century". Leyla Hussein
"Efua Dorkenoo obituary"
''The Guardian'', 22 October 2014. Dorkenoo died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

in London at the age of 65 on 18 October 2014, survived by her husband Freddie Green, her sons Kobina and Ebow, and her stepchildren.

Selected publications

* ''Cutting The Rose: Female Genital Mutilation the Practice and its Prevention'' (Minority Rights Group, 1994). * ''Report of the First Study Conference of Genital Mutilation of Girls in Europe/ Western World'' (1993) * ''Child Protection and Female Genital Mutilation: Advice for Health, Education, and Social Work Profession'' (1992) * ''Female Genital Mutilation: Proposals for Change'' (with Scilla Elworthy) (1992) * ''Tradition! Tradition: A symbolic story on female genital mutilation'' (1992) * As Stella Efua Graham with Scilla McLean (eds), ''Female Circumcision, Excision, and Infibulation'' (Minority Rights Group Report 47, 1980)

References

External links

Equality Now home pageFORWARD home page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorkenoo, Efua 1949 births 2014 deaths Activists against female genital mutilation Alumni of City, University of London Alumni of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Ghanaian feminists Ghanaian emigrants to England Ghanaian health activists Officers of the Order of the British Empire Ghanaian women's rights activists Deaths from cancer in England People from Cape Coast