Djingarey Maiga has been the President of Femmes et Droits Humains since 2000. Ms. Maiga is also the Coordinator of the African Network for Medical Abortion (ANMA) for the International Consortium for Medical Abortion (ICMA). Her work aims at strengthening women’s human rights, specifically on the issues of reproductive and sexual health, political participation, female genital mutilation, and economic and educational rights. She has experience working with these issues on the local, national, regional, and international levels.
From 1996 to 2000, Ms. Maiga worked as the Human Rights and Gender Analysis Trainer and Women’s Education Coordinator for the Institute for Popular Education. From 2001 to 2005, she worked with the People Movement for Human Right Education as the National Coordinator of the “Consensual Human Rights Cities.” She was the Executive Secretary of the Non Governmental Process of the Community of Democracies, an international effort to strengthen democratic norms and values worldwide. Ms. Maiga is a member of multiple networks including Women Living under Muslim Laws, the Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Health and Rights, African Feminist Forum, Africa Democracy Forum, and the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) African Network for Medical Abortion.
Ms. Maiga received a Diploma in Computer Science, a Technical University Diploma in Applied Languages, and a University Diploma in Communication on Human Rights. She has been a 2005 DAWN fellow, a Les Aspin Center fellow on democracy and good governance, and a Michigan State University fellow on women and political participation.
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Djingarey Maiga
Tolekan Ismailova is the Director of Human Rights Center/Citizens against Corruption (CAC) in Kyrgyzstan since May 2000. Ms. Ismailova is also the Executive Secretary of the Kyrghizstan NGOs Forum and founding president of Kyrgyzstan’s Coalition for Democracy and Civil Society. She is a well known human rights defender in Kyrgyzstan. For more information about CAC and her experience please visit www.hivos.nl and www.womenlearningpartnership.org.
Hubbie Hussein Al-haji is the Executive Director of Womankind Kenya, the only NGO in the Northeastern province of Kenya. Founded by Ms. Hussein in 1995, Womankind Kenya aims to build confidence, raise self-esteem and empower the community to participate fully in their own affairs and decision-making to facilitate community-based projects. Through her work at the organization, she has been instrumental in helping the community develop and institutionalize unique, innovative approaches to eradicate poverty, empower women and foster community sustainability. Her dream is to see all girls in the region enjoy access to education on par with boys and ensure gender equality for all. Ms. Hussein’s efforts have been recognized both nationally and internationally where she is able to fight for the rights of the indigenous people.
Ms. Hussein has conducted research on various topics including a gendered analysis of water management practices in the Masalani Division of the Ijara district of Kenya, the impact of traditional harmful practices against Somali women in Northern Kenya, and a base line survey on human rights and female genital mutilation. In 1997, she was granted honorary citizenship to the U.S. In 2006, she was awarded the Ralph Stone Memorial Award in recognition of her leadership in difficult circumstances and exemplary performance.
Born in a Northern Province of Kenya as a Somali pastoralist woman, Ms. Hussein experienced many obstacles in achieving her education. Her determination to assist her community and region and succeed as a woman led her to acquire a diploma in livestock husbandry at Egerton University and a BA in Development Studies from MSTCDC in Arusha, Tanzania.
Nur Laili Rahmah is a leader of the “Salafiyah Syafi’iyah” Islamic Boarding School in Jombang, Indonesia. The school was established in 1921 by Mr. And Mrs. Ma’shum for male students. In 1938 a class for female students was created, making the school only the second institution for females in Jombang. After the death of Ma’shum Ali, the school continued under the direction of his wife, Ms. Khoiriyah, and passed onto their three daughters. Currently, “Salafiyah Syafi’iyah” is led by three of Ms. Khoiriyah’s descendents.
Ms. Rahmah joins a legacy of women who have played an important role in leading and supporting education for the students of the school. The curriculum of the school enables students to gain knowledge in both religion and science. In 2006, she joined the Indonesia Australia Partnership in Basic Education. The partnership gave assistance to the stakeholders of 60 schools in Jombang for the development of their schools. Since 2008 Ms. Rahmah has taken part of a project supported by the Asian Development Bank that develops Islamic schools. Ms. Rahmah’s school is one of 26 schools in Jombang that are funded by the project. As one of the facilitators of the project, Ms. Rahmah assists schools in preparing development plans and reports on her school’s progress.
Gulnara Karakulova is the founder and director of Women’s Resource Center (WRC) in the South Kazakhstan Region, established in 1998. Ms. Karakulova founded the center for the development of leadership among Muslim women, as well as the struggle for freedom of speech, the right for personal safety and the prohibition of discrimination. In 1999, she introduced the project “Women’s summer camp of leadership,” which has taken place every year and provides young women with the chance of discovering new opportunities.
In 2002, Ms. Karakulova organized a shelter for victims of violence and human trafficking which is still running successfully today. The shelter presents a temporary place where women can find accommodation for a period of time and get medical, juridical and psychological help. In 2005, Ms. Karakulova established cooperation with the Women’s Learning Partnership (USA) and arranged the First Central-Asian Regional Institute for teaching women’s leadership.
Ms. Karakulova has received numerous awards, as well as a nomination for “The Best Organization Headed by a Woman.” She has also been awarded a diploma by the Chairman of the National Commission on Family and Women under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan for her participation in the “National fair of women’s ideas and products.”
Ms. Karakulova is the author of the book Assistance to the Victims of Human Trafficking: Legal Aspects, published in 2009. She has also been involved in the drafting and designing of 16 socially important projects aimed at improving life sustainability of poor Muslim women which have been fully realized by WRC.
Siti Musdah Mulia is a research professor at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), where she has been teaching since 2003. Dr. Mulia is also a lecturer on Islamic Political Thought at the School of Graduate Studies of Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University in Jakarta, Indonesia. Since 2007, she has been the Chairperson of the Indonesian Conference on Religion for Peace, an organization that promotes interfaith dialogues, pluralism and democracy for peace. She was Senior Advisor of the Minister of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia from 2000 to 2007 and head of Research Division of The Council of Indonesian Ulema (MUI) from 2000 to 2005.
An activist for democracy, human rights and gender issues, Dr. Mulia has been an international visiting fellow in a number of universities. In 2007, she was the recipient of the International Women of Courage Award from the US Government for her outstanding contribution to the development of moderate Islam and the promotion of democracy and human rights in Indonesia. She is currently the laureate of the 2009 Yap Thiam Hien Award for her activities in promoting women rights and minority rights.
Nurjannah Ismail is a lecturer in Tafsir at the Faculty of Letter at the State Institute of Islamic Studies (IAIN) Ar-Raniry in Banda Aceh, where she served as Vice Dean in the field of Outside Relations. Ms. Ismail also teaches in the Postgraduate Program at IAIN, and she has taught in several universities in Banda Aceh. In addition, she has instructed and participated in regional, national, and international seminars, conferences, discussions and trainings on such issues as gender in Islam, children, and Islamic law.
Her book in the field of Tafsir and gender, Women in the Stocks, has been printed several times due to its popularity amongst gender activists. Ms. Ismail is also active in government and non-governmental institutions alike, including as Expert Staff in the Aceh Governor Office, Member of the Consideration Ulama Board (DPU) in the Ulama Board Parley (MPU) of Aceh, Councilor of the Regional Education Board of Aceh (MPD), and Chief of the Aceh Education Department and Women’s Board Parley Aceh, among others.
Born in Krueng Panjoe Bireun, Aceh, Ms. Ismail finished her S-1 in the Arabic Department of the Tarbiyah Faculty at IAIN Ar-Rainy. She received her Master’s degree in Islamic Law at the Postgraduate Program of the same university in 1995, and in 2002, she achieved her doctorate in field of Tafsir at the State Institute for Islamic Studies Sunan Kalijga Yogyakarta.
Aylin Aykan is a pianist and composer, born in Munich to a Turkish family from Istanbul. Ms. Aykan studied philosophy and musical science at Ludwig Maximilian University. She received a Concert degree in Chamber Music at the Richard Strauss Conservatory in Munich where she studied piano with John Strathern. According to critics, her musical style shows both “intelligence and intuition”.
Ms. Aykan’s “search for her roots” let her focus shift away from the typical classical music genre. Over the past decade, Ms. Aykan has become known through her cross-cultural projects, specifically her programs which present musical connections across different cultures in both an understandable and entertaining way.
Ms. Aykan co-produced the poetic/musical program Pesüs, which played on the border separating Greek and Turkish Cyprus. From 2001 to 2004 she organized the highly successful music program for the cultural festival Turkish October in Munich. In 2004 the festival was awarded by the Körber Foundation as a “German-Turkish Dialogue Project.” In 2007 she ran a workshop for “Cross-Cultural Chamber Music” in Rotterdam, NL.
Ms. Aykan’s first performance of “voices, shadows,” a commissioned composition for “Deutschlandfunk broadcasting,” took place in Cologne, Germany in 2007. One of her most recent projects is a program where classical western and traditional oriental music encounter in arrangements of religious and mystical tunes for piano, church organ, oud and voice. First presented for the international “Daniel Pearl Music Days 2008” at a Protestant church in Munich, the project is meant to overcome borders and be expanded to as many different houses of worship as possible.
