I Will Scream to the World: My Story. My Fight. My Hope for Girls Everywhere.

Summary

The powerful, intensely personal story of how a young Gambian girl and survivor of child marriage and harmful traditional body-altering practices transformed herself into an international activist and global political leader for women’s human rights—and became one of the youngest people ever nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

On the wedding night of her first arranged marriage, fifteen-year-old Jaha learned that she had undergone Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) as an infant. That painful discovery, coupled with her experiences with a second arranged marriage, set Jaha on her path as an activist—a courageous mission that would require her to brave hostility in her community and family, and even attempts on her life.

Despite the challenges, and with ever-growing determination, Jaha founded Safe Hands for Girls, an organization that succeeded in having FGM banned in Gambia. She is now working to eradicate FGM and forced child marriage worldwide by 2030 and running to be the next President of The Gambia.

I Will Scream to the World recounts Jaha’s ongoing, uphill journey to be seen as a survivor, activist, but most of all as a human. She dives into her childhood to show the root causes of her crusading, shares her personal and professional life, and explores, as only a survivor can, a practice that while violent and troubling, is often culturally misunderstood.

Above all, Jaha’s unflinchingly honest memoir is a story of resilience and extraordinary fearlessness, of the strength that comes with learning to love oneself, and of the power within everyone to create meaningful and lasting change.

“This memoir is proof that women not only survive but thrive under horrendous circumstances. I was particularly impressed that as a global women’s rights activist, Jaha passionately promotes financial equity because she understands that money is power and without power, women will not reach full potential for themselves and the world.”—Dr. Andrea Wagner, founder, Herizon Funding