06/07/2026
After First Lady Fatima Maada Bio Called Her Scammer, International Community Recognise the Work of Rugiatu Neneh Koroma as Champion in the Fight Against Female Ge***al Mutilation (FGM) in Sierra leone.
At home, the debate is loud. Abroad, the verdict is clear.
After public remarks in which First Lady Fatima Maada Bio referred to Rugiatu Neneh Turay-Koroma as a “scammer,” many expected her work to be overshadowed. Instead, the international community has doubled down on recognition for Rugiatu Neneh Turay-Koroma’s decades-long fight against Female Ge***al Mutilation.
From Sierra Leone to the world,Rugiatu Neneh Turay-Koroma is known as a voice for Sierra Leonean women and girls. Through her organization, Amazonian Initiative Movement, she has rescued, educated, and empowered hundreds of young women. She has walked into communities where FGM was not something to talk or discuss about, sat with traditional leaders as key front liners to end FGM, and introduced a new path where girls go through the practice without harm and keep their bodies safe, their health, and their futures.
While political arguments play out in Freetown, international partners point to results. Schools built. Safe spaces opened. Former cutters trained in new livelihoods. Advocate for strengthened existing laws that will make Lives changed.
Supporters say the contrast is striking: at home she faces insults, abroad she receives standing ovations. For many Sierra Leoneans, especially women and girls, that contrast proves one thing — her work speaks louder than politics.
Rugiatu Neneh Turay-Koroma remains focused. “This is not about me,” she said at a recent forum. “This is about every girl who deserves to grow up well without fear or harm. If fighting for them makes me a target, I will keep standing. She said”
History often remembers who stood on the right side. Today, the international community is clear on where Rugiatu Neneh Turay-Koroma stands: as a champion, a protector, and a voice Sierra Leone cannot afford to silence.
The world is watching. The girls are counting on her.