We hope you'll join us for the Arab Women & Feminist Visions for Equity and Belonging webinar series, the inaugural series of the Global South Lab, and Global South Women and Feminist Visions for Worldmaking at the Othering & Belonging Institute. The Lab facilitates public engagement with Global South civic institutions and social movements to imagine new ways of worldmaking as well as to garner new perspectives and narratives that center the Global South’s diverse citizens, institutions, movements, thoughts and aspirations, leadership, struggles, and practical applications to co-create a world of belonging without othering.
This first event in the series will be on the theme of Rights, Equity, Dignity & Social Justice, and will engage a rich conversation with Arab women and feminists based in the Arab region and in the diaspora on their role within society and the region in shaping civic life and social and political progress to advance rights, equity, dignity, and social justice for women, minority communities, and society as a whole.
Moderator
Leila Hessini is a pan-African feminist organizer and strategist of Algerian heritage with over thirty years of experience working at the intersections of philanthropy, organizing, research and advocacy. Born in Algeria, and educated in the U.S., France and Morocco, Leila has lived and worked in over forty countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the United States. Leila currently works as a senior strategist with philanthropic foundations, feminist funds, social justice movements and women’s rights organizations across Africa and the Middle East to advance social justice and rights-based resourcing and movement strategies.
Speakers
Siouar Douss [she/her] is a Tunisian gender justice practitioner, human rights defender, and feminist philanthropy professional, currently serving as the Manager of Feminist Crisis Response at the Global Fund for Women. With over a decade of experience, she has worked alongside feminist and LGBTQI-led movements, particularly in crisis settings, to drive transformative, community-led solutions that address the root causes of inequality. Grounded in the principles of Southern Feminism, Siouar’s work amplifies the power of grassroots organizing and intersectional feminist strategies to challenge oppressive systems and advance rights, equity, and dignity.
Wafa Mustafa is a Syrian activist, senior communications and advocacy lead at The Syria Campaign and a former non-resident fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP) and Refugees International. Following her father's forced disappearance by the Assad regime, Wafa fled Syria to Türkiye in 2013 before completing her studies at Bard College Berlin in Germany. Wafa’s advocacy focuses on the impact of detention and enforced disappearance on women and families, the rights of refugees, and the urgency of international justice and accountability for the crimes of the Assad regime. Wafa is also a member of civil society communities in Syria and across the region.
Yanar Mohammed was born in Baghdad in 1960 and graduated from Baghdad University- Architectural Engineering in 1985. She founded the Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq (OWFI) that started the first shelters for women from domestic and systemic abuse. She started Al Mousawat (Equality) feminist newspaper, and Al Mousawat Radio later in 2010. After 21 years of work, OWFI’s sheltering endeavours saved more than 1400 women from 'honour-killing', trafficking, and domestic abuse. Three governmental lawsuits were filed against Yanar as president of OWFI, and bank accounts were frozen in the recent years. OWFI continues its feminist campaigns and runs its women's shelters with the support of Madre and other feminist initiatives within the UN and other international agencies.
