Sophia Abdi Noor is a Member of the 10th Parliament of Kenya. Born to a Somali pastoralist in Northern Kenya, Ms. Noor fights for the rights of the marginalized through gender equality campaigns. She was one of the few women in her community to receive a high school degree and attend college to train as a public school teacher. After acquiring a Diploma in Community Development, she began to serve her community through her work with several international organizations, including CARE International, MSF-Spain, Oxfam, UNHCR, Save the Children, World Vision, and MIKONO International.
After working for some time, Ms. Noor decided to go to parliament to advance the human rights of women and girls by introducing legislation dealing with issues detrimental to women in the region such as female genital mutilation (FGM), early marriages and wife inheritance. In 1997, Ms. Noor became the first woman from the region to seek political office however her nomination was cancelled due to the cultural and religious arguments used against her as justifications that a woman cannot lead a Muslim community. She then spent several years as Chief Executive Director of a local NGO.
Ms. Noor recently obtained as a BA in Development Studies at Arusha Tanzania and a Masters in Executive Management development from USIU. She was the recipient of several awards including: a social justice award from the International Leadership Institute in Minnesota; the International Democracy Fellowship from the Lees Aspen Center for Governance in Washington DC for her work in women’s empowerment and democratization in 1996; and the Father John Kaiser Human Rights Award of the Year in 2007 by the Law Society of Kenya for her exemplary leadership, courage and benevolence. She has attended trainings in Ireland and Greenland on indigenous marginalization at the International Training Center for Indigenous People (ITCIP).
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Dr. Esha Faki is a researcher in the field of Muslim Women’s rights with a focus on education, politics, marriage, inheritance, and property ownership. She specializes in Islam and Gender, Dialogue, Religion and HIV/Aids, Peace and Reconciliation, Islam, and Human Rights, as well as Union Negotiations. Esha works with Kenyan Muslim women at the grassroots level concerning their rights and needs. Ms. Mwinyihaji was involved in a research project with Volkswagen Foundation on Sharia Debates in Selected Muslim Countries. She also has researched drug use among Muslim youth.
Dr. Esha Faki conducted a recent investigation of cooperation between world religions. She is the author of various articles regarding Muslim women’s presence in Africa’s public arena. She contributed to the book “Sharīʿa in Africa Today” with a chapter titled “Necessity Removes Restrictions: Swahili Muslim Women’s Perspectives on Their Participation in the Public Sphere.” In it, Esha Faki explores how Muslim women take public spaces as political leadership in Mombasa, Kenya.
Esha Faki Mwinyihaji is a Lecturer in Islamic Studies at Maseno University, Kenya; her interest in Muslim women drove her to earn her Phil in Islamic Studies from Moi University in 2001 and was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Geneva, with the Foundation for religious and Intercultural Dialogue.
Nani Zulminarni is national coordinator of PEKKA, or Women-Headed Households Empowerment Program. Together with the National Commission on Violence Against Women (KOMNAS Perempuan) and The Center for Women’s Resources Development (PPSW), Ms. Zulminarni began PEKKA in 2001. The organization works with 430 grassroots’ organizations of poor women head of households in Indonesia. The focus is to empower and build collective power of the women head of households to gain better life, justice and dignity.
Ms. Zulminarni began working in the field of women’s empowerment in 1987 when she joined PPSW. From 1995 to 2001, she served as the Executive Director, and since then has sat on the advisory board. In 1994, Ms. Zulminarni and several NGO activists established a national network for NGOs called ASPPUK which brings together organizations that work with women in micro-business. She was elected chairperson for two terms between 1995 and 2001.
Ms. Zulminarni is involved in several regional networks. She has been the chairperson of the South East Asia Popular Communication Program (SEAPCP), a regional network of organizations working on community organizing using popular communication approach. She served as the executive committee member of the Asia South Pacific Bureau for Adult Education (ASPBAE), a regional network focusing on adult education for empowerment. She is also the co-director of JASS South East Asia, a global network of women activists and community organizers who work for women’s empowerment and advocacy. Ms. Zulminarni received an Ashoka Fellowship in 2007 for her work with PEKKA.
Seyran Ateş is a prominent feminist lawyer, writer and publicist. Born in Istanbul, Ms. Ateş has lived in Berlin since childhood. She began her career as a lawyer in 1997 after graduating from Free University in Berlin. Because of her feminist work and her engagement for equal gender rights, she has been the subject of growing hostility and death threats. She stopped working briefly in 2006 after she was violently attacked by the husband of one of her clients that occurred after a divorce proceeding. She resumed her activities as a lawyer in September 2007.
Ms. Ates has written two autobiographies: Where do we belong? – two Turkish girls narrate, written in 1983, Ms. Ateş narrates her own story up until she separated from her family at the age of 18. Her second book, Great Journey into Fire, was released in 2003. Ms. Ateş wrote, The Multicultural Error – how we can live better together in Germany in 2007 in which she describes the coexistence of Germans and migrants. She provides an important perspective on the ensuing conflict of the integration of Islam in Europe and suggests possibilities of how this may be resolved.
Ms. Ateş is a member of the plenary committee of the German-Islamic conference and the Ministry of Interior’s Summit Conference for National Integration. She is one of the most important voices in Germany in the struggle against forced marriage and honor killings. She has been fighting for many years for forced marriage to be made legally punitive.
Heba Amin is a university professor, artist, freelance illustrator, web designer, and painter. Ms. Amin’s work has been presented in Minnesota, Wisconsin, New York, and Washington D.C, and California at various galleries. Ms. Amin was recently commissioned to illustrate the award-winning “Extraordinary Women in the Muslim World”, a children’s book that profiles women role models from the Muslim World (www.extraordinarywomen.tv).
Ms. Amin holds a B.A. in studio art from Macalester College, a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Painting from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and an M.F.A in Interactive Design from the College of Design at the University of Minnesota. Her artistic work addresses the role of the urban environment on human behavior, an interest that was instigated by her upbringing in Cairo, Egypt. She is interested in exploring the use of technology within interactive and real-time environments that relay new perspectives on social, cultural, and political constructs.
Ms. Amin’s work can be viewed at: www.hebaamin.com.
Iman Abdel Wahed is a member of the New Woman Foundation (NWF), a Cairene feminist NGO dedicated to women’s issues and fighting for women’s unconditional right to freedom, equality and social justice. Ms. Abdel Wahed has been an active member and participant in NWF activities since 1993. She was the coordinator for the organization’s Violence against Women project which conducted a pioneering survey on the knowledge and perception of men and women on violence against women in Egypt. This survey revealed the impact that the misinterpretations and misunderstandings of religion have had on people. As a result of these findings, Ms. Abdel Wahed has been involved in activities dealing with Islamic law and its application in contemporary contexts, interfaith dialogue and global movements to empower Muslim women.
Ms. Abdel Wahed graduated from the Faculty of Arts, English Department at Ein Shams University and has worked for 13 years as a freelance journalist and translator. This work has enriched her understanding of the social problems and women’s status.
Habiba Akter is the Founder and Executive Director of Ashar Alo Society (AAS), a national NGO in Bangladesh which works for those infected with and affected by HIV and AIDS to improve their quality of life, ensure rights care and treatment services, reduce stigma and discrimination, encourage greater involvement, and contribute to HIV prevention in Bangladesh. In the past twelve years, Ms. Akter has worked on HIV and AIDS intervention strategies, policies, management, capacity development, networking, advocacy and community mobilization, particularly in the area of Care & Support Program for PLHIV.
As the Executive Director, Ms. Akter supervises five divisional offices of AAS with over 100 staff members and seven projects currently being implemented. She is also Chairperson of a consortium under The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) Round-6 project, Package-910 titled “Care and Support for People Most Affected by HIV and AIDS”.
She is a member of the country coordination mechanism (CCM) which is the supreme authority of funding on HIV and AIDS through GFATM in Bangladesh. She has a vital role in building a national network of PLHIV in Bangladesh. She formed the “Women’s network of HIV positive in Bangladesh” under the umbrella of Ashar Alo Society (AAS) which is a remarkable milestone for the well-being of HIV positive women in Bangladesh.
Wajeeha S. Al-Baharna is Vice-President of the Bahrain Women’s Association, an organization that promotes women’s empowerment in Bahrain. Ms. Al-Baharna is a Board Member of several organizations including the Innovation Cultural Society (Al- Tajdeed), Arab Thought Forum (Jordan), Arab Network for Non-Governmental Organizations (Cairo), World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (USA), and Network of Democrats in the Arab World (NDAW). She is an Advisor at the Global Fund for Women (USA).
Ms. Al-Baharna leads the “Nationality Campaign” in Bahrain in coordination with the Collective for Research and Training on Development – Action (CRTDA – Lebanon), and is a member of the family law committee in Bahrain. She has presented many papers at international and regional conferences, and has made appearances on Bahrain TV, Al Jazeera (Qatar), Al Manar (Lebanon), New TV (Lebanon), and Al Hurra Channel (Dubai). Additionally, Ms. Al-Baharna has been interviewed in local and regional newspapers and magazines on various women’s issues.
Born in Bahrain, Ms. Al-Baharna holds a PhD degree in Environmental Management from Madison University in the United States. She is a marine biologist in the Public Commission for the Protection of Marine Resources and Environment and Wild Life in Bahrain.
