Women who led
Ifrah Ahmed (Ifraax Axmed)
Ifrah Ahmed (born 1989 in Mogadishu) is a Somali-Irish campaigner against female genital cutting. She arrived in Ireland as a refugee in 2006, founded United Youth of Ireland and the Ifrah Foundation, and campaigned for the Irish law that banned the practice in 2012. She later advised Somalia's government on gender and helped draft its national plan to end the practice. The film A Girl from Mogadishu tells her story.
Ifrah AhmedIfraax Axmed
- Lived
- 1989 to today
- Known as one of
- Women who led
- Places
- Muqdisho and Banaadir
- Era
- The Republic, 1960 to 1991; Rebuilding without a state, 1991 to 2012; Who holds power, 2012 to now
- Sources
- 3 sources
Who is she?
Ifrah Ahmed is a Somali-Irish social campaigner (Wikipedia, Ifrah Ahmed). She founded the United Youth of Ireland and the Ifrah Foundation, which works to end female genital cutting (same source). See female genital cutting.
Early life
She was born in Mogadishu in 1989 (Wikipedia). At the age of eight she was cut by a relative who was a doctor (same source). She left Somalia at 17, during the war of 2006, and reached Ireland, where she received refugee status in 2006 (same source). She later became an Irish citizen (UNHCR, Ifrah Ahmed). See Somalis in Ireland.
At a medical check after her arrival, staff had little experience of women who had been cut (Wikipedia). Wikipedia says this led her to go back to school and to speak publicly about what had happened to her (same source).
Campaign in Ireland
In 2010 she set up United Youth of Ireland, a group for young immigrants (same source). She started the Ms Ethnic Ireland pageant to celebrate diversity and raise awareness (same source). Some members of the Somali community objected to her campaign (same source). Working with the Labour member of parliament Joe Costello, she pressed for a ban (same source). Ireland passed the Criminal Justice (Female Genital Mutilation) Act in 2012 (same source). The Irish Times credited her campaigning for the law (Irish Times).
Work in Somalia
A Somali minister for women invited her to work on child rights programmes at the ministry (Wikipedia). In 2016 she was appointed gender adviser to the Prime Minister of Somalia (same source). She led an 18-month study of the practice in Somalia and wrote the method for its National Action Plan to end it (same source). In 2018 she made a short documentary about a ten-year-old girl who died after being cut (same source). Wikipedia reports that the case led to Somalia's first prosecution for the practice (same source). See health in Somalia.
Film and awards
The film A Girl from Mogadishu, directed by Mary McGuckian, tells her story (Wikipedia). Barkhad Abdi appears in it (same source). It premiered at the Edinburgh Film Festival (same source). She won the Women4Africa Humanitarian of the Year award in 2015 and an Irish People of the Year award in 2018 (same source).
In short
A refugee from Mogadishu who campaigned for Ireland's 2012 ban on female genital cutting and later advised Somalia's government on ending the practice.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Ifrah Ahmed · en.wikipedia.org
- UNHCR, Ifrah Ahmed · unhcr.org
- Irish Times · irishtimes.com
Ifrah AhmedIfraax Axmed
- Lived
- 1989 to today
- Known as one of
- Women who led
- Places
- Muqdisho and Banaadir
- Era
- The Republic, 1960 to 1991; Rebuilding without a state, 1991 to 2012; Who holds power, 2012 to now
- Sources
- 3 sources
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Where this matters
Same era
- Australia18,401 people of Somali ancestry and 8,101 born in Somalia lived in Australia at the 2021 Census, more than half in Victoria. History, work, issues.
- Birmingham (Somali diaspora)About 17,000 to 21,600 Somalis live in Birmingham (Census 2021), mostly in Nechells, Newtown, Small Heath and Alum Rock. History, work, health and ties home.
- Bristol (Somali diaspora)9,167 people in Bristol identified as Somali or Somalilander in Census 2021, the city's largest minority group. Where they live, work, housing, leaders and ties home.
- Calgary, Alberta, Canada2,845 people of Somali origin lived in Calgary at the 2021 Census, plus 890 in Brooks. How they came, who serves them and what they face.
- Denmark (Somali diaspora)21,885 people of Somali origin lived in Denmark in 2026, half born there. Numbers, history, work, permit reviews, and ties home.
- DjiboutiAbout 13,900 refugees from Somalia live in Djibouti (Aug 2026): numbers since 1990, Ali Addeh, Holl-Holl, the 2017 refugee law, Arta 2000 and 2025 returns.
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- Fartuun Adan (Fartuun Cabdisalaan Aadan)Fartuun Adan, born 1969: head of Elman Peace in Mogadishu, co-founder of Sister Somalia, and 2022 Right Livelihood laureate.
- Dr Hawa Abdi (Xaawo Cabdi Dhiblaawe)Dr Hawa Abdi (1947–2020): doctor and lawyer whose clinic near Afgooye became a hospital and a refuge for 90,000 people.
- Fadumo Dayib (Faadumo Daayib)Fadumo Dayib (born 1972): former refugee, nurse and UN health expert, first woman to run for President of Somalia (2016).