Women’s Economic Empowerment & Poverty Reduction

Abeer is a young Yemeni women leader, who is passionate in women empowerment and reducing gender inequalities. Abeer is Progressio’s country representative for Yemen since March 2009, Abeer has a wide range of experience in the development sector in Yemen including as a manager of the INGOs Department for the Supreme National Authority for Combating Corruption; as a fundraiser and focal point for Arab Women’s Organisations for the Women’s National Committee; manager of the economic department at the Women’s National Committee; executive manager for Vision for Development Foundation and national manager for the Women’s Economic Empowerment Association, which is responsible of the Poverty Reduction Strategy for the Women’s National Committee. Abeer also was a pioneer of the Youth Voices at World Bank, Sana’a office. Moreover she contributed in preparing different national strategies, plans and reports.

Translational Justice and reconciliation for women in war

Salma Yusuf is Sri Lanka Country Representative of Women in War; Lecturer in Law, University of Northumbria – Regional Campus for Sri Lanka & Maldives; and Resource Person, Experts Panel, Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations and Strategic Studies. Salma Yusuf has a Master of Laws from Queen Mary, University of London with a specialization in Public International Law during which time she was Queen Mary Scholar. She has a Bachelor of Laws with Honours from University of London. She has specific specializations in the subject of transitional justice and reconciliation from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. She was previously Lecturer at University of Colombo and University of Sydney.

Further, she is Country Representative for the French-headquartered organization called Women in War. Salma is a regular commentator on politics, governance, human rights and international affairs at both national newspapers and international journals. Significantly, Salma Yusuf received the International Visitor Leadership Program Fellowship award from the U.S. Department of State in 2014 which made her the only female recipient of the award in Sri Lanka for the thematic on Human Rights Advocacy and Awareness. The award included a three-week residential professional exchange program on invitation of the U.S. Government

In 2012, Salma Yusuf was hand-picked by the French Ambassador to Sri Lanka and nominated for the prestigious Personalities of the Future Program hosted by the Government of France. In 2013, she was duly selected for received the Personalities of the Future Program Fellowship award which was an individual high-level tailor-made invitation for a week of engagement with key stakeholders in Paris and its precincts and hosted by the Foreign Ministry of France. This made her the first ever Sri Lankan woman to receive the award in the history of the program.

Reorienting the world patriarchy culture, gender empowerment for social life

Dr. Surjadi is currently working for CSO Consultant, the Founder and President Director of Gender Harmony Foundation; Director of Research & Networking on GEAP (Gender Empowerment against Poverty) and is also a Retiree of Ministry of Women Empowerment Republic of Indonesia, former Regional Advisor of Gender, Women and Health UN/WHO for the South East Asia Region; who are working to promote gender harmony and gender empowerment in Indonesia, international and the world. She is also involved with international environment like this VOF forum, UN women’s rights, Women’s United Nation Report Networks, health care informatics society, E Health, APEC Women’s Leaders network, Business Professional Women (BPW) International, Indonesia public policy forum and several universities for education and trainings. She has published the Gender Harmony book series (4) for: Gender Harmony; How to prevent Domestic Violence, Gender Skateboard and Gender Empowerment. She has background education on medical, computer information, research, human resources development and sociology. She started her career from university as student assistant then working at health centre to change dramatically into computer information technology in health, hospital, insurance, human resources, finance, counsellor for women’s problems, research assistant, sociology and nowadays has a dream to a better world for men and women in the world within gender equality.

ES Gender harmony for the Nation and reorienting the world Patriarchy Culture, Gender Empowerment for social life and harmonious living, Harmonic Bureaucracy, egalitarian ethos, power abuse, pluralism, harmonic politics, gender sensitivity, partnership availability, gendernomics, Health management information system, gender and ICT, system analyst, research, knowledge management, statistics, human resources development, sociology, gender and human rights

Freedom of expression & sustainable development

Shaima Aly is a human rights and gender activist based in Cairo with more than 11 years of experience working in development projects funded and supported by multinational INGOs. Shaima is Gender and Water Alliance MENA representative and the main writer and Egypt community manager in URB.IM on urban development in Egypt. She is the co-founder of Kenana Association for women empowerment and sustainable development which is a member in Annah Lindh Egypt Foundation. She is the main founder of Arterial Network Sudan chapter and working currently as a consultant for Freemuse organization for freedom of expression. She is also member in AWID and WECAN networks. Shaima has been engaged with many organizations as programs manager, media consultant and outreach/visibility expert. Her experiences extend to include many countries in the region, such as Yemen, Algeria, Jordan and Sudan.

Fight against corruption and promote values of integrity, peace and reconciliation,

FWA is a local non-partisan NGO working to develop for women’s right and empowerment, youth mobilization and capacity development, fight against corruption and promote values of integrity, peace and reconciliation, elections, social volunteerism and community engagement. It has implemented several projects relevant to peace, democracy, human rights, women’s rights, public awareness, and aids distribution. The main objective of FWA is to work for equal rights, provide volunteer and humanitarian services,
particularly for minority groups of the society, without any political, tribal, racial, and language
discriminations. Our major target populations are women and youth.

Empowerment of girls through performing arts, education, menstrual hygiene management and sexual reproductive health rights.

Farida Atieno Oloo, 27 years of age is an ambitious young woman with a passion of putting a kink on the socially accepted norms that continues to derail and disempower women and girls at the community level, especially those at the informal settlement. 

She was born and bred in the informal settlements of Mathare in Nairobi, Kenya. Being from the underserved community, Farida witnessed and experienced different forms of economic, social and leadership inequalities and broad gender gaps that were scaled against girls and young women. The interactions shaped her belief and values on ensuring a fight for a just community that not only promote equality between all genders but also a culture that ensure transformation of toxic social norms. 

Farida started her early and primary education at Moi Airbase Primary school which is also located in Mathare, she later joined St. Valentines Girls Boarding School in Machakos County for Secondary education after which she joined Kenya Institute of Management in Nairobi where she graduated with a diploma in project management. She then joined Management University of Africa where she currently doing bachelors of project management. 

It is worth noting that post-secondary, Farida was awarded a scholarship by Voices of Change Art Project where she was a long time member, her dedication, hard work and determination so her  attend a music school in Norway, Music Folkehogskolen Viken where she graduated with a diploma in Music. Moreover, Music Folkehogskolen Viken has been supporting her higher education. 

Farida is also enthusiastic and passionate about performing arts and mentorship which in a big way aided her in her women and girl’s rights work at the community. In this regards, she founded the Farida Girls Foundation in 2016 to create a safe spaces for participation by women and girls in governance, leadership, policy, decision-making and sexual reproductive health and rights, the interventions and mitigations are tailored to alleviate the suffering of the vulnerable members of the community, girls and young women. 

Farida Girls Foundation empowers girls and young women through performing arts, education,   menstrual hygiene management and sexual reproductive health Rights. The organization believes in linking and learning, a value which enabled the organization to open the first Sanitary Pads bank in Mathare informal settlements to restore dignity to school going girls whose parents cannot meet the monthly sanitary cost. 

In the near future through linking/support from other like-minded organizations/persons, Farida is looking up to open a girls empowerment centre in Mathare and other informal settlements both in Nairobi and other counties.