Talk:Fatou Baldeh

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Edit request

The user below has a request that a significant addition or re-write be made to this article
for which that user has an actual or apparent conflict of interest.
The requested edits backlog is high. Please be very patient.
There are currently 160 requests waiting for review.

Please read the instructions for the parameters used by this template for accepting and declining them, and review the request below and make the edit if it is well sourced, neutral, and follows other Wikipedia guidelines and policies.

What I think should be changed (include citations):

Fatou Baldeh MBE (born December 1983)is a Gambian women's rights activist who campaigns to end female genital mutilation (FGM).

Early life and education

Baldeh underwent FGM at the age of seven and became a survivor of mutilation, similar to hundreds of millions of other girls and women around the world. ('CITATION:https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/over-230-million-girls-and-women-alive-today-have-been-subjected-female-genital) It has been reported that 73% of women and girls aged 15-49 have experienced FGM in The Gambia. (CITATION: https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR369/FR369.pdf)

Baldeh completed a bachelor's degree in Psychology and Health at the University of Wolverhampton and completed her master's degree in sexual and reproductive health at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh. She is currently a PhD candidate at Canterbury Christ Church University and a Research Fellow at the Medical Research Council Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. (CITATION: https://standard.gm/dr-baldeh-listed-in-time-magazines-100-most-influential-people/)

Career, activism and recognition After completing her studies, she worked for the Dignity Alert Research Forum in Edinburgh, working to strengthen women's rights and human rights. She was appointed as the director of the Dignity Alert Research Forum in May 2015.

In 2013, Fatou spoke publicly about the issues of female genital mutilation of girls in Scotland. On 30 January 2014, she subsequently appeared before the Equal Opportunities Committee at the Scottish Parliament, where she was asked to outline the measures and guidelines required in order to prevent young women from being victims of FGM in Scotland.

After spending years studying and working with various NGOs supporting BAME communities in Scotland, Baldeh returned to The Gambia in 2018. She founded the Women in Liberation and Leadership (WILL) organisation after returning to her home country. WILL works to transform and protect the lives and rights of women in The Gambia. (CITATION: https://www.womeninliberation.org)

Alongside The Gambia’s Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC), WILL documented the stories of women under Yahya Jammeh’s 22-year dictatorship, which came to an end in 2017. The regime was characterised by widespread human rights violations including Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV).(CITATION: https://www.womeninliberation.org/projects)

In January 2020, she was given the MBE by the British High Commissioner to the Gambia, Sharon Wardle, as a result of the 2019 Special Honours, in recognition of her valuable efforts and commitments regarding advocating black minority and ethnic communities in Scotland.

In 2024, she received the US State Department’s International Women of Courage Award (CITATION: https://2021-2025.state.gov/2024-international-women-of-courage-award/) and the Geneva Summit Women’s Rights Award, celebrating her leadership in defending human dignity. (CITATION: https://genevasummit.org/speech/2024-womens-rights-award/)

In early 2025, TIME named her one of the Women of the Year (CITATION: https://time.com/7225476/women-of-the-year-gala-2025-kidman-munn-baldeh-wilson-babineaux-fontenot/), and former US President Barack Obama publicly recognised her efforts to end FGM on International Women’s Day. (CITATION: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16LzwFG2X2/) To mark the same occasion, Harvard University listed her as one of the 25 Extraordinary Women in the World. (CITATION: https://www.harvard100.org) Former US First Lady Michelle Obama also supported Dr Baldeh on her Facebook page. (CITATION: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18PfC9ZUEJ/)

TIME later included her in their 2025 list of the 100 most influential people in the world. (CITATION: https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273763/fatou-baldeh/)

Why it should be changed:

Edits have been requested by Fatou Baldeh.

Editorgambia71 (talk) 16:43, 3 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Editorgambia71: I briefly skimmed your request, but didn't do a deep dive. It looks like you are requesting a rewrite of the article. It's too much work for volunteers to review everything you want to add and compare to the current version. I recommend instead you use this guide I wrote to show the changes you are requesting. The textdiff template is used to show before and after text, and the box template is used to show additions. Be specific about what is changing and why, and make sure everything you want to add (or change) has an independent source. If you write the request in an easy to understand format, another editor might even just tell you to make the changes yourself. STEMinfo (talk) 07:24, 23 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Editorgambia71: And thank you for trying to improve the encyclopedia. I wanted to also let you know that you don't need to include detailed background information about the issues Baldeh is championing. For example, rather than adding statistics about the percentage of women suffering from FGM in Gambia, you can simply link to Female genital mutilation in the Gambia where interested readers can get more information. That will simplify your edit requests a little. STEMinfo (talk) 21:38, 23 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

References