Fatou Baldeh

Fatou Baldeh is a globally recognized human rights advocate and a survivor of female genital mutilation and cutting (FGM/C). She is the founder and executive director of Women in Liberation and Leadership (W.I.L.L.), an organization committed to ending gender based violence and FGM/C 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 a global movement to eliminate FGM/C within this decade. With more than 75 percent of women in The Gambia affected, and the country’s 2015 national ban threatened with repeal by parliamentarians in March 2024, she helped coordinate national and international efforts to defend the law. She is now leading the legal defense of the ban as it undergoes review by The Gambia’s Supreme Court, continuing to advocate on the frontlines to protect girls from gender based violence and uphold their fundamental human rights.

Baldeh’s leadership has earned her international recognition. In 2025, she was named a TIME Woman of the Year and included on the TIME100 list of the world’s most influential people. She is a recipient of the Clooney Foundation for Justice Albie Award, the International Women of Courage Award from the United States Department of State, and the Women’s Rights Award at the 2024 Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy. She was also recognized by President Barack Obama as a global voice for change on International Women’s Day and selected for the prestigious Harvard100 cohort of visionary changemakers.

In 2020, Baldeh was appointed a Member of the Order 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 United Kingdom. Her advocacy has reached the highest levels of government. She has testified before the Scottish Parliament and The Gambia’s Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission, presenting evidence of atrocities committed under former dictator Yahya Jammeh, including FGM, forced labor, rape, and murder.

With more than a decade of experience in gender justice, Baldeh has worked across Scotland, the United Kingdom, and The Gambia to support survivors and influence national and international policy. In 2024, her alma mater, the University of Wolverhampton, awarded her an honorary doctorate in recognition of her groundbreaking contributions to human rights.

Among her many achievements, one remains closest to her heart: protecting her eleven year old niece from undergoing FGM/C and breaking the generational cycle of harm within her own family.