Fatou Baldeh

Fatou Baldeh is a globally recognized human rights advocate and a survivor of female genital mutilation (FGM). She is the founder and executive director of Women in Liberation and Leadership (W.I.L.L.), an organization committed to ending FGM and advancing the rights of women and girls through education, policy reform, and community engagement in The Gambia and beyond.

A survivor herself, Baldeh is leading the movement to end FGM worldwide by 2030. Her advocacy helped secure The Gambia’s 2015 national ban on the practice, yet, with over 75% of women still affected and the ban now under threat of repeal, she continues to fight on the frontlines to protect girls from gender-based violence.

Baldeh’s leadership has earned her international acclaim. She was named a 2025 TIME Woman of the Year, selected for the prestigious TIME100 list of the World’s Most Influential People, and included in the Harvard100 cohort of visionary changemakers. She is a recipient of the International Women of Courage Award from the U.S. Department of State, the Women’s Rights Award from the 2024 Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy. Her work has been featured by President Barack Obama, who honored her on International Women’s Day as a global voice for change.

Baldeh has over a decade of experience in gender justice, having worked across Scotland, the UK, and The Gambia to support survivors and influence policy. She has testified before both the Scottish Parliament and Gambia’s Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission, sharing findings from her work documenting abuses under former dictator Yahya Jammeh, including FGM, forced labor, rape, and murder.

In 2020, she was appointed a Member of the British Empire (MBE) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for her work supporting migrant communities and survivors of gender-based violence in the UK.

In 2024, she accepted the U.S. State Department's International Women of Courage Award and the Geneva Summit Women's Rights Award, celebrating her leadership in defending human dignity. Later that year, Baldeh’s alma mater, The University of Wolverhampton, presented her with an honorary doctorate.

At the 2025 TIME Women of the Year Gala, Baldeh was one of only three featured speakers - and the only one to receive a standing ovation.

Among her many accomplishments, one remains closest to her heart: protecting her 11-year-old niece from undergoing FGM and breaking the generational cycle within her own family.