My Activism journey

I have always been passionate about empowering and supporting the most vulnerable groups in demanding their rights. As an advocate of more than 20 years, starting as a child rights activist, I am a well-known, credible, and highly respected human rights advocate in The Gambia and beyond. I continue to serve as a technical adviser and program development consultant to many child-focused and women’s rights organizations in The Gambia including Think Young Women, a young-women-led organization I co-founded in 2011. Thus, providing me an opportunity to advance the dignity, health, and well-being of women.

As part of my activism, I  was a member of numerous organizations including being a founding member of Voice of the Young under the Child Protection Alliance (CPA), Young People in the Media (YPM), Lend A Hand Society (LAHS), National Youth Parliament (NYP), Gambia Girl Guides Association, Gender Action Team (GAT), Youth Against Aids Network (YAAN), and served as the first child representative to the Children Parliament of the World. I was also a radio show host of the Youth Show on Paradise FM.

I have spent more than a decade working at the intersection of gender, law, and democracy across Africa. In the Gambia, I coordinated the Gambia Female Lawyers Association (FLAG), championing the effective participation of female lawyers in the development and protection of women’s rights. at the regional level, I am a member of the AU’s Network of African Women in Conflict Prevention and Mediation- FemWise-Africa and ECOWAS conflict prevention efforts in the region. My other experiences broadly focus on elections and democracy through serving as an African Union (AU) Election Observation Mission and a member of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) African Governance Network. I was also a radio show host of the Youth Show on Paradise FM.

I am an advocate who works with a range of populations to promote understanding of gender discrimination, addressing sexual and gender-based violence, and promoting of gender equality. Between 2017 and 2019, I have provided technical support to Hon Justice Lucy Asuagbor, former Commissioner and Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR). I have also undertaken extensive advocacy for the implementation of Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol) and training African governments and civil society on the African human rights systems. I am a member of the Panel of Experts of the Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa (ISLA), a Pan- African and feminist-led initiative that uses the rule of law and African domestic and regional courts to advance women’s human rights.

Past & Present Affiliations

  • Institute for Strategic Litigation in Africa (ISLA) Panel of Experts (IPE)

  • African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) African Governance Network (AGOSS)

  • Law and Society Association

  • FemWise-Africa (Network of African Women in Conflict Prevention and Mediation), African Union

  • International Campaign for Women’s Right to Safe Abortion

  • INROADS: The International Network for the Reduction of Abortion Discrimination and Stigma.

  • AfCoP Gender for Results Group, African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)

  • LLMHRDA Alumni, Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria

  • US Department of State International Visitor’s Leadership Program (IVLP) Alumni

  • African Democracy Forum (ADF)

  • Network of International Youth Organisations in Africa (NIYOA)

  • Moremi Leadership Empowerment and Development (MILEAD) Fellows Network.

  • West African Young Female Leaders Network

  • Gender Action Team under the African Charter for Democracy & Human Rights Studies (ACHDRS)

  • World Association of Girls Guide and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS)

  • National Youth Parliament (NYP)

  • Voice of the Young, Child Protection Alliance (CPA)