Crown Princess Mary of Denmark was the special guest at the world premiere on Thursday evening of Jaha’s Promise, a feature documentary on female genital mutilation (FGM) following the life story of a 26-year-old campaigner Jaha Dukureh.
The film, made by the Guardian and Accidental Pictures, got a standing ovation from the audience at the annual film festival. Dukureh, who is a Time 100 leader, survived FGM as a child in the Gambia and then at 15 was flown to New York to marry a man she had never met.
In the US the horror of what happened to her body became apparent. The film crew follow her as she confronts her past, her family, her culture, her religion, country and its leaders. Jaha becomes a lightning-rod for change in Gambia, leading to the eventual government ban on FGM and child marriage and a working relationship with the Obama administration.
