Nice Nailantei Leng’ete

Nice (She/Her), is a young Maasai woman from Kenya who broke cultural barriers and stood up for herself in her traditional, patriarchal community. She is a respected community advocate and a recognized global youth leader. Against all odds, she challenged the attitudes of her male dominated community in her quest to end female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). She has been very active in promoting alternative rites of passage in her home community in the sub-county of Loitokitok, Kenya, since 2009 where she organized the first-ever alternative rites ceremony with the community’s cultural elders and replaced FGM/C with alternative rites of passage for the young girls.

In April 2018, Nice was named in the TIME 100 list of the most influential people in the world. She has won several global awards including the BBC Outlook Inspirations award, Women Deliver Young Leader award, The Annemarie Madison Prize, Laureate Freedom from Want award and the Kenya Head of State Commendation award. She is also an Ambassador for the Post Code Lottery Group.