Mercy Akuot

{{Infobox person

| name = Mercy Akuot

| image =

| birth_date = 1993https://www.ted.com/talks/mercy_akuot_how_i_escaped_child_marriage_to_become_a_women_s_rights_activist

| birth_place = South Sudan

| nationality = South Sudanese

| alma_mater =

| occupation = women's rights activist

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Mercy Akuot Marang is a South Sudanese social activist and singer.{{Citation|title=Mercy Akuot - Refugee Activist Fighting for Women's Rights and Education|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU7-NPjEK7M|language=en|access-date=2021-08-10}}{{Cite web|last=Refugees|first=United Nations High Commissioner for|title=The remarkable refugee women I have met and what they have taught me|url=https://www.unhcr.org/afr/news/stories/2019/3/5c8133464/the-remarkable-refugee-women-i-have-met-and-what-they-have-taught-me.html|access-date=2021-08-10|website=UNHCR|language=en}} She currently lives in Kenya.{{Cite web|title=Artist Mercy Akuot Sings, Runs Refugee Camp in Kenya|url=https://nowthisnews.com/videos/her/artist-mercy-akuot-sings-runs-refugee-camp-in-kenya|access-date=2021-08-10|website=NowThis News|language=en}}

Biography

She was born in South Sudan and hails from the Dinka community of South Sudan. She performed well in school and aspired to become a lawyer. Mercy escaped from her parents at the age of just 15 when her parents willfully forced her to marry her own uncle who was much older than her.{{Citation|title=HOW I ESCAPED CHILD MARRIAGE TO BECOME A WOMEN'S RIGHTS ACTIVIST {{!}} Mercy Akuot {{!}} TEDxKakumaCamp|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pdqKetNpsM|language=en|access-date=2021-08-10}} She left South Sudan in 2008 and initially got asylum in Uganda. However, her 56 year old uncle tracked her location in Kampala and she revealed that she had suffered physical violence, rape and unlawful detention from him.{{Cite web|title=Daily Nation: This is what it means to be a refugee in Kenya – Refugee Consortium of Kenya|url=https://www.rckkenya.org/daily-nation-this-is-what-it-means-to-be-a-refugee-in-kenya/|access-date=2021-08-10|language=en-US}} She later moved to Kenya in 2015 after escaping from her uncle and was admitted as an immigrant in the Kakuma Refugee camp in Kenya.{{Cite web|last=Giannangeli|first=Marco|date=2019-06-09|title=Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya: Fresh hope for a 'lost generation'|url=https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1138276/kakuma-refugee-camp-kenya-football|access-date=2021-08-10|website=Express.co.uk|language=en}}

Career

Although she had the ambition of becoming a professional lawyer, she pursued her career as a social worker and women's rights activist due to the circumstances she met at her young age. She also advocates against the child marriage as she herself had the experience of surviving the forced attempt of child marriage by her own parents.{{Cite web|title=6 Activists Who Are Fighting Child Marriage in Their Countries|url=https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/child-marriage-women-activists-africa/|access-date=2021-08-10|website=Global Citizen|language=en}}

She also serves as an ambassador for the refugees at the Kakuma Refugee camp in Kenya.{{Cite web|date=2018-06-12|title=African refugees' success stories|url=https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/9843/african-refugees-success-stories|access-date=2021-08-10|website=InfoMigrants|language=en}} She also currently serving as a volunteer with Danish Refugee Council for their women empowerment programme in the camp. In June 2018, she participated alongside fellow refugees at TEDxKakuma Camp which was historically the first ever TEDx event in the world to have been held in a refugee camp.{{Cite web|last=Agency|first=UN Refugee|date=2018-06-10|title=Refugee speakers steal show at historic TEDx event|url=https://medium.com/@UNHCR/refugee-speakers-steal-show-at-historic-tedx-event-b68a84a09693|access-date=2021-08-10|website=Medium|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=TEDx just hosted its first event from a refugee camp|url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/06/let-s-change-the-way-we-think-about-refugee-camps/|access-date=2021-08-10|website=World Economic Forum|language=en}} During the 2018 TEDx event, she shared her experiences of how she escaped the child marriage and then later becoming a women's rights activist.

Mercy was chosen as one of the two musical artists under the FilmAid's Finding a Star project which was done in collaboration with Kenyan R&B musician Wyre.{{Cite web|last=|title=Wyre to release new album with refugees|url=https://www.the-star.co.ke/sasa/word-is/2019-08-26-wyre-to-release-new-album-with-refugees/|access-date=2021-08-10|website=The Star|language=en-KE}} The project was also known as Making Stars-Kakuma as the project was initiated with the support of Wyre who was interested in helping talented aspiring musicians in the Kakuma camp.{{Cite web|title=Daily Nation: Music is our gift from Kakuma to the world – Refugee Consortium of Kenya|url=https://www.rckkenya.org/daily-nation-music-is-our-gift-from-kakuma-to-the-world/|access-date=2021-08-10|language=en-US}} It was revealed that Finding a Star project assisted Mercy to kick-start her professional musical career.{{Cite web|title=NEWSLETTER: Making an impact with the power of personal stories|url=https://www.filmaid.org/stories/2018/6/13/june-newsletter-projecting-hope-through-the-power-of-personal-stories|access-date=2021-08-10|website=FilmAid|language=en-US}} She released her first official single titled Anavyonifanya in 2018.{{Citation|title=ANAVYONIFANYA by AKUOT (Text SKIZA 8543580 to 811)|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE0-cASUYNo|language=en|access-date=2021-08-10}}

In December 2020, she launched an album titled Bado Mapema (It's Still Early) alongside two other women refugees (Lisa Queen and Mlay) in the Kenyan camp.{{Citation|title=Bado Mapema ft Lisa Queen, Mlay & Mercy Akout.(Official Music Video)|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbesLm6Gwlo|language=en|access-date=2021-08-10}} The album depicts the own harsh realities and experiences of Mercy and other women refugees.{{Cite web|last=DomínguezMunllonch|first=Montse|date=2020-12-14|title=Mercy Akuot: Artist, Activist⁠.|url=https://www.coachabilityfoundation.org/post/mercy-akuot-artist-activist|access-date=2021-08-10|website=misitio|language=en}}

In August 2021, she was listed as one of the seven African women activists who deserve a Wikipedia article by the Global Citizen, an international organisation and advocacy organisation.{{Cite web|title=7 Notable African Women Activists Who Deserve Wikipedia Pages|url=https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/african-women-activists-wikipedia-wikigap/|access-date=2021-08-10|website=Global Citizen|language=en}}