The activist leading the Guardian’s campaign against FGM has been honoured at a gala event in New York alongside Caitlyn Jenner, Lewis Hamilton and Ariana Grande.
Jaha Dukureh led a successful campaign to get female genital mutilation banned in the Gambia last November, and is now campaigning to end the practice worldwide within a generation, using her experiences as a survivor to build public support.
Dukureh was named one of the world’s 100 most influential figures by Time magazine, alongside the likes of John Kerry, Angela Merkel, Aung San Suu Kyi, Bernie Sanders and Christine Lagarde.
The actor Melissa McCarthy, who also made the list, delivered a toast at the black-tie Time 100 gala in New York and thanked the pioneers who had “forged ahead” despite their naysayers.
“I would like to thank you, in all sincerity, for your anarchy. And I mean that actually – I kind of mean that from the bottom of my heart. Thinking outside the box like that will change the world, and it doesn’t matter how small or how big,” McCarthy said.
“None of you have picked the easy way. There are a lot easier ways to do this than what you’ve all done, and I think we’ve all benefited from it greatly. I think we’re all grateful for it. I just want to say thank you for just going your own direction.”
The F1 driver Lewis Hamilton paid tribute to Prince in his toast, saying the late singer was “obviously the greatest of all time”.
Also honoured at the Jazz At Lincoln Center on Tuesday night were Nicki Minaj, Gael García Bernal, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Priyanka Chopra, Aziz Ansari, Karlie Kloss, Gina Rodriguez, Kathleen Kennedy, Riccardo Tisci, Reince Priebus, Lester Holt, Eli Broad, Guo Pei, Marilynne Robinson, Christiana Figueres, Darren Walker, Sergio Moro, Yuri Milner, Bjarke Ingels, Ibtihaj Muhammad, Denis Mukwege, Mona Hanna-Attisha and Marc Edwards.
- A feature film about Jaha Dukureh’s life is being made by the Guardian and Accidental Pictures, and will be distributed by First Hand Films
