She was the founding President of the Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children (IAC).
[2] After marrying a US-trained engineer, Terrefe Ras-Work, she accompanied her husband to Geneva in 1970.
[3] She gained a MA in International Relations from the Graduate Institute of Development Studies in Geneva.
[4] A television program "started her thinking" about female genital mutilation, and what could be done to raise consciousness and confront the issue.
[3] In 1977 diplomats and activists living in Geneva founded the NGO Working Group on Traditional Practices Affecting the Heath of Women and Children.