At the age of 11, Mariama is one of the leading figures in the fight against early marriage and pregnancy, female genital mutilation and other gender-based violence in Senegal. She is the president of the local Girls' Leaders Club, an initiative developed in 2014 and which led to the ‘New Deal’; a pact between clubs, parents, sponsors and neighbourhood godparents to achieve zero pregnancies and to encourage the retention of young girls in school.