TIME 100’s Nice Nailantei Leng’ete Honors the People Working to End Female Genital Mutilation

My name, once more, is Nice Nailantei Leng’ete, and it’s an honor to be on the TIME 100 for my efforts to bring female genital mutilation and child marriage to an end. Thank you.

And tonight first one, to do a toast to my grandfather, an elder in Maasai community who raised me after the loss of my parents.

Was when I was eight years old, my sister and I ran away at four a.m. and hid in a tree to escape from the cut. The next day I went to him, my grandfather was the first person who I could convince that the cut was not necessary, and was the first person who listened to me. He changed my life, and that’s why today I am the woman of my dreams. Thank you.

And the second toast is to my elder sister, Soila, she was with me the first time I ran away, but the next time I escaped, she gave up because of the beatings we received from our family members. She was first one that got the cut at the age of ten, and since that was the only way she will be considered a woman in my own community, and that’s why I do this work today because of the sacrifice she made for me then.

And so for more than 15,000 girls in Kenya and Tanzania have become women without the cut with the support of all the people I work with with Amref South Africa.

To close with, this is not about her, this is not about me, but this is about the countless girls, women, boys, men, and elders all over Kenya and Africa who dare today are working to bring female genital mutilation and child marriage to an end.

So once more, join me in raising a toast again to my grandfather, to my sister, and to all the strong people out there who are fighting to make sure that every young girl can become the woman of her dreams.

Thank you so much. And as we say back home, ashe oleng.