Mariama is a gender justice and mental health advocate leading transformative community-driven change across The Gambia and Scotland. Her work sits at the intersection of trauma healing, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), and transitional justice, always rooted in the lived realities of the people she serves.
She is the founder of Fantanka, a women-led organisation that supports survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), marginalised youth, and underserved communities in The Gambia. Through Fantanka, Mariama has championed the integration of trauma-informed care and transitional justice into accessible, community-based spaces. She brings a unique approach by blending traditional healing with modern psychosocial support to reach those often excluded from formal care systems.
Mariama has led the development and implementation of several programmes focused on marginalised populations, including persons with disabilities, to improve accessibility and availability of SRHR education and services. Her work ensures that consent, dignity, and bodily autonomy are rights enjoyed by all, not privileges reserved for a few.
She also founded Fantanka Diaspora in Scotland, where she leads culturally sensitive SRHR education programs that break through language and cultural barriers faced by women and girls of African descent. She advocates for the inclusion of African and migrant communities in mainstream health and wellbeing systems, empowering them to access services with confidence and dignity.
In her role with The Gambia’s Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission (TRRC), Mariama supported survivors of state violence and embedded mental health into the national healing process. She co-authored the Child-Friendly TRRC Report and Youth Shadow Report, amplifying the voices of children and young people.
Mariama has employed innovative approaches, such as docudramas and reenactments, to raise awareness about SGBV in The Gambia and Scotland. These approaches have helped to increase national understanding of gender-based violence. Mariama is also an international speaker, trainer, and consultant, producing toolkits and manuals on trauma, migration, and gender inclusion.
Mariama is a bridge-builder, linking cultures, systems, and generations to ensure justice is inclusive, healing is holistic, and no one is left behind.
I am driven by the voices that remain unheard, the women and girls who endured unspeakable violence in silence. I carry their pain, their courage, and their resilience in every space I enter. My work is beyond advocacy, it is a commitment that their suffering will not be forgotten, and that justice will no longer be a privilege, but a right for all.Mariama Jobarteh