Ifrah Ahmed

Ifrah Ahmed (, ) is a Somali-Irish social activist. She is the founder of the United Youth of Ireland non-governmental organization and the Ifrah Foundation.

Biography Ifrah Ahmed was born in Mogadishu, Somalia in 1989. At the age of eight years old, Ahmed underwent enforced circumcision at the hands of a family member who was a licensed doctor. It was during the Ethiopian War that Ahmed retreated from Somalia to Ireland at the age of 17. She evaded traffickers and was granted refugee status in Ireland in 2006.

Upon her arrival, Ahmed underwent a mandatory medical check where healthcare professionals insisted on performing a pap smear. Speaking limited English at the time, Ahmed struggled to communicate her situation with the medical staff, who prior to that day had never dealt with any cases of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). At that time, whilst living amongst other refugees in a hostel, Ahmed relived her past trauma connected to FGM when she asked the other women about their experiences. Ahmed became shocked by the realization that FGM was not a common practice in Ireland, as it was so normalized back in Somalia.

Career Ifrah Foundation Ahmed established the United Youth of Ireland (2010), an NGO for young immigrants, and the Ifrah Foundation, which is devoted to eliminating female genital mutilation (FGM).

The Ifrah Foundation is a registered charity in both Ireland and Somalia. Through Ahmed's Foundation, she continues to advocate for the eradication of FGM in her native Somalia. Her work includes raising awareness through producing media content to highlight the negative impact of FGM. In July 2018, in collaboration with the Global Media Campaign to end FGM, Ahmed produced a short documentary on the death of 10-year-old girl due to complication resulting from FGM. The Ifrah Foundation has partnered on impactful projects with international NGOs, and has formed strategic partnerships with governmental agencies on policy and legislation.

The foundations vision is of “the absolute abandonment of FGM in Somalia and the horn of Africa [...]”. On their website they state that this will be achieved through “sustained engagement with Government and strategic partners, in [the] key areas of action: Advocacy, Awareness and Community Empowerment”.

United Youth of Ireland The non-governmental United Youth of Ireland provides support to young immigrants in their business, artistic and creative pursuits.

In Somalia Ahmed has also tackled FGM in her home country of Somalia. The former Somali minister of women and human rights met with Ahmed while at a conference in the European Union, and asked Ahmed to work at the Ministry of women to develop child rights programs, including the ratification of female genital mutilation. Ahmed was also supported by subsequent Ministers of Women. Backed by these women and other key government ministers, she was able to promote the prevention of FGM directly with communities and religious leaders. Supported by Amison and the University of Mogadishu, Ahmed led conventions and symposiums to provide education and awareness. Ahmed is now the Gender Coordinator on behalf of the Somali government, and the Gender Advisor to the President of Somalia. Along with that, Ahmed is also the Human Rights advisor to the Somali government.

Other roles Additionally, Ahmed has been involved in organizing various events, workshops, fundraisers and seminars.

Media portrayal A biopic about Ahmed, A Girl from Mogadishu, starring Aja Naomi King and Barkhad Abdi was in production, shooting in Ireland and Morocco and premiered at the Edinburgh Film Festival in Scotland.

It was a difficult process to open up and share such intimate details of her life and her story with the film's director, Mary McGuckian, and scriptwriter, and later, with the world. But Ahmed wanted other people who had suffered from FGM to feel less alone after experiencing the film. In 2018, she was awarded with a People of the Year Award for her work.