Efua Dorkenoo, OBE (6 September 1949 – 18 October 2014), affectionately known as "Mama Efua",[1] was a Ghanaian-British campaigner against female genital mutilation (FGM) who pioneered the global movement to end the practice[2] and worked internationally for more than 30 years to see the campaign "move from a problem lacking in recognition to a key issue for governments around the world.

[5] She was a staff nurse at various hospitals, including the Royal Free,[4] and it was while training as a midwife that she became aware of the impact of FGM on women's lives.

[1][6] She joined the Minority Rights Group and travelled to various parts of Africa to gather information for what was one of the earliest reports published on FGM in 1980.

[12] In 2012, she was made honorary senior research fellow in the School of Health Sciences at City University London, and in 2013 she was named one of the BBC's 100 Women.

[4][8][14] Dorkenoo died of cancer in London at the age of 65 on 18 October 2014,[15] survived by her husband Freddie Green, her sons Kobina and Ebow, and her stepchildren.