By Omar Bah
Renowned Gambian activist, Jaha Dukureh has officially joined the People’s Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS).
The development was confirmed to The Standard by the PDOIS youth secretary, Kemesseng Sanneh yesterday.
Ms Dukureh is the CEO and Founder of the NGO “Safe Hands for Girls” that provides support to African women and girls who are survivors of FGM and addresses its lifelong, harmful physical and psychological consequences.
Alongside women’s organizations and civil society, she contributed to the Gambian Government’s ban on FGM after youth mobilization and campaigning in the country.
She was appointed Regional UN Women Ambassador for Africa in February 2018. Herself a survivor of FGM, and forced into child marriage at age 15, Ms. Dukureh has dedicated all her efforts to support UN Women’s advocacy to end female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriage in Africa, with focus on mobilizing youth.
Aminata Correa
Meanwhile, Aminata Correa has been elected as deputy secretary general of the PDOIS during the party’s last week congress.
Ms Correa is one of the few young women in the country who actively participated during the 2016 presidential campaign.
She was the publicity secretary for the then opposition National Reconciliation Party (NRP) and later joined the PPP. But she recently announced joining the PDOIS.
The mother-of-four joined politics shortly after completing her senior secondary school.
According to her, she was inspired by the need for change “in this country and the opposition represents the voice of the people.”
Aminata spent most of her days at the head office of the NRP on Kairaba Avenue, where party supporters from all over the country regularly converged.
Aminata was one of the leading and energetic young people who had formed Pan-African student clubs in various schools.
These clubs were later constituted into an umbrella network called the Congress of Pan-African Student Associations (COPASA) which was formally launched on 10 April 2004 at Nusrat coinciding with the 3rd anniversary of the April 10 and 11 student massacre. Aminata was elected as the Liaison Servant in the first Executive Committee of COPASA.
