From Where I Stand: “To empower women, we must ensure they know how to access legal services.”

Date: Thursday, June 18, 2020

Samaher, 35, a Syrian refugee woman living in the Za’atari camp, has made it her goal to raise awareness among other women about protection and legal services available in the camp. In the context of protracted displacement, the uncertainty on where to seek help in case of need is another important layer of complexity to violence for vulnerable women. Restrictions of movement due to the recent COVID-19 outbreak further aggravated refugees’ capacity to access legal services. UN Women and the Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD) work to ensure that vulnerable women like Samaher have information and knowledge of how to access protection and legal services during the crisis and confinement. Today her outreach goes beyond the camp.

From where I Stand: “It is your right as a woman, as a refugee and as a human, to become empowered.”

Date: Wednesday, June 17, 2020

After fleeing the war in Syria in 2015 to find safety in Jordan, Hadeel Dohs*had to face domestic violence within the four walls of her own home. Managing to escape into the night, she finally found peace and hope in Azraq refugee camp, where she is rebuilding her life through her new role as a childcare teacher and accessing protection services offered in the UN Women Oasis center.

From Where I stand: "From one crisis to another, we must learn to support each other."

Date: Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Ten years since the beginning of the conflict in Syria, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic brought new challenges for vulnerable Syrian refugee women and girls living in Jordan. Amid the second big crisis in her life, Bushra Alhariri had to find new strengths to cope with the situation and, as a community mobilizer, is now helping more than 150 women in the Za’atari refugee camp through the UN Women Oasis by sharing reliable information on COVID-19 and national preventive measures.

From where I stand: “My husband would not allow me to leave the house, now I’m financially independent”

Date: Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Ten years since the beginning of the conflict in Syria, refugee women continue to face multiple challenges during displacement. Home to 36,657 refugees, in the Azraq refugee camp 1 in 4 households are headed by women. Noor Ali Halam*, from Dara’a, is one of them and, since 2017 she is the sole provider for her six children. At the UN Women’s Oasis center, she was able to find her first job and the support network she needed to rebuild her life.

From where I stand: “It was an incredible feeling to be back again in the classroom.”

Date: Wednesday, June 17, 2020

The Za’atari refugee camp is home to 76,378 refugees, of which 19,243 are school-age children. To support parents and children to continue their education during the COVID-19 pandemic, UN Women increased the number of Syrian refugee teachers enrolled in the Oasis’ incentive-based volunteer programme. One of them is Nahid Ali Albuhair, 31, from Daraa Syria, whose passion for teaching roots back to her life before the conflict. This is her journey of resilience between two crises.

From Where I Stand: “I have the right to write my own future”

Date: Thursday, January 30, 2020

Farah Al Rahiyel, 23, from Daraa, Syria, found herself overcoming hurdles of war and displacement in the pursuit to complete her education. Today, she is standing up for her right to education through the support and inspiration she took from the sessions on legal awareness and women’s rights organized by the Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD) in partnership with UN Women, and with the generous support of the European Union Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian crisis (Madad) and the Governments of France and Japan.

From where I stand: “A woman can and should be able to work”

Date: Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Deep within the rural community of Karak lies the town of Taibeh, where 39-year-old Mona Ahmed Alqkla, found a safe place for her family seven years ago after fleeing the conflict in Dara'a, Syria. She had never had the opportunity to work, until now. She recently joined the incentive-based volunteer programme as a tailor in the Oasis Centre in Taibeh, which was launched by the Ministry of Social Development in partnership with UN Women in March 2019.

From Where I Stand: “My biggest achievement is that I have changed myself and changed people.”

Date: Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Mohamed Magdy is a volunteer in Imbaba, Giza with UN Women’s Ending Violence Against Women (EVAW) programme, working to raise awareness of gender equality and women’s empowerment. Before joining the programme, Mohamed did not have constructive thoughts and beliefs about gender equality and women’s empowerment, but now he is working to change his community to become safer for and more inclusive of women and girls.

From where I stand: “Equality between men and women…is a moral imperative”

Date: Friday, July 12, 2019

Taher Sellami, a young entrepreneur and business student, is striving to use innovative technologies to drive social change in Tunisia and worldwide.

From where I stand: “My dream is to open the first baby photography studio in Palestine”

Date: Tuesday, July 9, 2019

Doaa Eshtayeh, from Nablus, Palestine, found her talent and passion in photography and has made it her profession. Doaa is the main provider for her family, thanks to the support she received through a UN Women project that helped her develop her skills and buy the equipment she needed.

From where I stand: “I am the living proof of what you can do if you don’t give up hope”

Date: Thursday, June 13, 2019

Narjis Mohaisen lost her eyesight at the age of 13, but didn’t give up her studies. After graduating from university, through UN Women’s Cash for Work project in Palestine supported by the Government of Japan, she has discovered ways to support students with disabilities pursue their dreams.

From Where I Stand: “Kuwaiti women have achieved great success as part of the security forces”

Date: Thursday, May 30, 2019

Fatima Al Bouhasan, Policewoman, Kuwait. Photo: UN Women “10 years ago, His Highness the Amir of the State of Kuwait insisted on the need for a women’s police unit to work side-by-side with policemen in order to have an integrated and upgraded security system in Kuwait. When the women’s police institute was established, women graduated from it in the same ranks given to male police officers. At the beginning when I heard that the registration...

From where I stand: “Women should play a vital role in Kuwait’s future”

Date: Sunday, May 26, 2019

Dr. Khaled Mahdi, Secretary General of the General Secretariat of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development of Kuwait, at the Tunis Forum on Gender Equality. Photo: UN Women/Emad Karim “ Kuwait has been supporting and accelerating the implementation of SDG5 since 2015 when the His Highness the Amir of Kuwait adopted, together with other world leaders, the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, including the 17 Sustainable Development Goals at the United Nations. This vision...

From Where I Stand: “A woman needs to be strong and stand on her own feet”

Date: Sunday, May 19, 2019

Originally published on UN Women Europe and Central Asia’s website. Sahem Hussein. Photo: UN Women/Sinem Aydin Lopez When we first fled to Istanbul, we had a very difficult time as we couldn’t speak Turkish and didn’t have our identity cards. I used to work as an obstetrical nurse in Syria, but didn’t have my diploma with me. So, we all started working in the textile industry. Our Turkish neighbours were very nice and helpful. The house we rented was empty and...

From Where I stand: ‘We are a group of men who are ready to rise up against gender-based violence, stand up for women’s rights and spread the message to others.’

Date: Sunday, March 31, 2019

Ziad El Hawaja, a Syrian refugee and advocate for the elimination of gender-based violence, is using his voice as a tool to stand up for women in the Za’atari Refugee Camp. Hawaja is an active participant in regular awareness sessions organized by UN Women and the Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD)...

From where I stand: “Be strong, don’t give up and unleash your potential.”

Date: Monday, March 4, 2019

Manal Barham, 33, applies make-up on one of her clients in her home-based beauty salon in Hasmi Shamali, East Amman. Photo Credit: UN Women/ Lauren Rooney. Not so long ago I was suffering from severe depression. I had lost all hope after my husband chose to no longer financially support our family, which in turn drove our family into debt. However, it was at this point in my life that my burdens inspired me to take action and pursue an opportunity for work. I realized I could only depend...

From where I stand: “Yanouh cooperative increased my income and freedom of movement”

Date: Thursday, January 10, 2019

After some resistance from her husband, Ibtissam Jaber joined Yanouh cooperative in rural South Lebanon. Jaber, a mother of seven, loves producing traditional agro-foods and believes in the importance of contributing to her household’s income. By selling her products at food exhibitions across the country, she has now transitioned from being a small-scale producer to a profitable entrepreneur.

From Where I Stand: “My hope is to see FGM eliminated in my lifetime.”

Date: Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Jaha Dukureh, UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, at the North Africa Sub-Regional Dialogue on Child Marriage and FGM/C held in Cairo, Egypt. Photo: UN Women/Emad Karim What motivated me to become an activist to end female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriage is that I myself went through FGM when I was one week old and I was forced to get married at the age of 15. To me, it was important that women like myself led the campaign against FGM, so that we represent our own communities and...

From Where I stand: “A woman who knows her rights and makes decisions for herself is a woman who can conquer the world.”

Date: Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Houaida Hatan’s commitment to advocate for women’s empowerment and their rights in Jordan was formed at a young age. Utilizing her years of experience as a psychotherapist, she has been providing psychological support services for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), at the Jordanian Women’s Union (JWU) hotline. With the generous support of the European Union Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian crisis and the Government of France, UN Women and JWU...

From where I stand: “For the 16 Days of Activism…I am planning to highlight women who are speaking up against harassment”

Date: Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Nesrine Charikhi is a radio reporter from Algiers, the capital of Algeria. In 2017, she took part in a training on gender-sensitive reporting for journalists organized by UN Women in partnership with the Algerian Ministry of Communication. One year later, Charikhi explains how the training has helped her change her way of reporting on violence against women and girls, especially through her radio show, “At the Heart of Society”.