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.

[3] 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 has partnered on impactful projects with international NGOs, and has formed strategic partnerships with governmental agencies on policy and legislation.

[5] 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”.

They have worked at ministerial levels, with religious leaders, international media experts, and grassroots organizations to promote community empowerment and education.

[6] With the public support of the prime minister, who moved to pass legislation to end the practice, aid groups on the ground in Somalia were able to partner with Ifrah Foundation and the government to implement a nation-wide FGM abandonment program.

[6] In 2016, she was appointed Gender Advisor to the Prime Minister of Somalia [9] Additionally, Ahmed has been involved in organizing various events, workshops, fundraisers and seminars.

[10] 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.

[11][12] 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.