OneWorld.net (U.S.)

“A leader may chart the way, may point out the road to lasting peace, but many leaders and many people must do the building.” - Eleanor Roosevelt

Editor’s Note: There are untold numbers of women around the world doing amazing things for their communities. While there are far too many initiatives to list, we have pulled together a few stories of “leading lights” that we came across.

Children at the Afghan Institute of Learning © The Afghan Institute of LearningSakena Yacoobi, Afghanistan Born in Afghanistan and educated in the United States, Sakena Yacoobi started working with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Pakistan during the mid-1990s. Thanks to her efforts, the number of Afghan refugee girls enrolled in IRC-supported schools increased from 3,000 to 15,000 over a several year period. “When you see the joy and excitement in the students’ faces, when you see them sitting on dirt floors, under trees, and in dark basements—anywhere to get an education, you forget all your troubles,” Yacoobi has said of her work.

Yacoobi since founded the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL), which is committed to providing educational access to women and children in Afghanistan. Now the largest nonprofit organization in Afghanistan, AIL has created an astonishing 80 underground schools and libraries and serves 350,000 people. In 2005, it was given a Democracy Award from the National Endowment for Democracy. Yacoobi was also nominated to collectively receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 with 999 other women who are working for peace globally.

Argentina’s Working Women Argentina’s economic crash in 2001 left more than fifty women in a Brukman textile factory without a paycheck—and the male boss had abandoned the business. The factory was so plagued by debts that it had resorted to paying its workers—overwhelmingly female—five pesos (US $2) per week, and the workers had not been paid for two weeks prior to the crisis. The women were confident they could take over. Today, after being reorganized as a cooperative and predominately run by women, the factory now pays a wage of about 600 pesos (US $205) per week. The worker-owners hold weekly assemblies, get equitable salaries, and vote on company decisions. A similar story comes from Buenos Aires where a group of women turned around a bankrupt hospital there—despite having to work nearly a year without pay. These examples reflect a trend of women playing an increasingly important role in Argentine business. “The progress achieved by women is not a result of a government policy,” adds the Inter Press Service (IPS) report on this story. “On the contrary, it was the women themselves who took control of the abandoned factories and other businesses and got them back on their feet.”

© Advocacy ProjectMunira Beba Hadzic, Bosnia-Herzegovina Munira Beba Hadzic watched her life in Srebrenica change forever after the 1985 massacre in which the Bosnian Serb army killed more than 8,000 Muslims. Many women and families were left without the men who supported them. A primary school teacher and principal, Hadzic was forced out of Srebrenica during the war. With the help of Oxfam, an international relief agency, Hadzic developed a knitting project for the survivors of Srebrenica. When Oxfam was ready to move out of Bosnia in 1994, Hadzic decided to create an NGO of her own and Bosfam was founded later that year. Bosfam allows women to acquire a little income through making clothing and crafts and to gain the social support of fellow survivors. Today, ten years later, a new Web site and business development plan has expanded the sale of the women’s products, which includes traditional Bosnian carpets (kilims), sweaters, socks, and gloves.

La Ruta Pacifica de las Mujeres, Colombia A group of women in Medellín, Colombia were outraged after learning about a series of violent and brutal incidents against women in Urabá that had largely been ignored by the public. Calling on women’s groups around the country, they encouraged women to come by the busload to support these victims of rape. La Ruta Pacifica de las Mujeres was subsequently born after 1,500 women came forward in Urabá on November 25, 1996—the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

This Colombian women’s organization now marches on November 25 each year in their communities. The group has become a leading advocate for peace in Colombia and won the Millennium Peace Prize for Women in 2001. The women dress in black for all the crimes committed and to express their rejection of war. (Related “Women in Black” vigils have taken place in many countries worldwide.) Besides the nationwide marches for peace that they have initiated, the group has also spoken out against the health hazards of the fumigation of coca fields. (Also see: “Building from the Inside Out: Peace Initiatives in War-Torn Colombia”)

Ebadi was the first Muslim woman to win the Nobel Peace PrizeShirin Ebadi, Iran A lawyer and judge in Tehran, Shirin Ebadi was awarded 2003’s Nobel Peace Prize. She headed the city court as president in the 1970s until the Islamic Revolution in 1979 dismissed women from their judicial posts. Although housebound for some years, she ultimately set up her own lawyer’s practice in 1992. She has since taken on a number of controversial cases, including those concerning human rights, journalistic freedoms, and child abuse. Among other accomplishments, Ebadi is co-founder and president of the Human Rights Defense Centre. She has been praised worldwide for her efforts to establish the rights of Iranian women and children and is both the first Iranian and Muslim woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Twelve women have won the Nobel Peace Prize in the past 100 years. Find out more about all of them here.

Selene Biffi, Italy Selene Biffi always believed in the power of young people worldwide to bring about positive changes and has worked toward that goal for the last four years. Her commitments led her to found and direct Youth Action for Change, an online global program entirely run for and by youth. Its main aim is to inspire and equip youth worldwide with the knowledge and tools they need to tackle global issues. So far, the program has reached hundreds of young people in 86 countries worldwide. Among other merits, she was awarded the “Young Woman of the Year Award” in 2004 by the European Academy of Civil Society.

In December 2005, Biffi was selected by the international human rights organization MADRE as one of 25 “Young Women Inspiring Change.”

At Kenya's Umoja village © Independent Media CenterKenya’s Umoja Villagers About 10 years ago, a small group of homeless women in Kenya—who had been left by their husbands because they had been raped—took the courageous step of forming their own all-female village. Calling the village “Umoja,” which means unity in Swahili, it has served—and continues to serve—as a safe haven for young women escaping violence, female genital mutilation, and forced marriage.

About 48 women now call the village home and the community has thrived from the sales of colored hand-crafted tribal beads. Umoja has a campsite, is becoming a regular stop for backpackers and truck drivers, has a long-running craft stall, and a new 50-pupil primary school. Although such success has led to attacks by angry young men from other communities, Rebecca Lolosoli, the matriarch and chief of Umoja, has become a charismatic leader for this unusual village and was recently invited to speak before the United Nations in New York at a world conference on gender empowerment.

Anna Politkovskaya, Russia In a culture where journalistic freedoms are few and government regulation remains strict, Anna Politkovskaya has made a name as one of Russia’s most talented and courageous journalists. Born into Soviet high society, Politkovskaya chose an unexpected path and found herself, many years later, running from the Russian security services in Chechnya. Although frequently facing the threat of imprisonment, Politkovskaya says she is driven by her sense of the injustice being perpetrated in her homeland.

She gained her reporting reputation writing for independent news publications during the Perestroika years of the 1980s. Her coverage of the two Chechen wars put her in constant peril and, among other dangers faced, she was poisoned during her reporting of the Beslan school hostage crisis. Politkovskaya remains fearless and has earned unique credibility in her field and granted interviews with many of the nation’s most controversial political figures. Politkovskaya says it is a sense of duty, not necessarily courage, that drives her work. She was recently chosen as the January 2006 Journalist of the Month for Women’s E-News.

As a trusted mediator, Dharmadasa was asked to carry messages to the government when talks were floundering and Tamil representatives refused to speak directly with foreign embassy staff members and Norwegian negotiators.Visaka Dharmadasa, Sri Lanka Working to end the civil war that has gripped Sri Lanka for the past 20 years, Visaka Dharmadasa has educated soldiers, youth, and community leaders about international standards of conduct in war. She has designed and facilitated Track II dialogue processes, bringing together influential civil society leaders from both sides of the conflict. As a trusted mediator, Dharmadasa was asked by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam leaders to carry messages to the government when talks were floundering and Tamil representatives refused to speak directly with foreign embassy staff members and Norwegian negotiators. Among a variety of other commitments, she coordinates a program on war-affected women and designs workshops on rehabilitation, re-integration, and reconciliation for the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka.

Maria Otero, United States Maria Otero, CEO of ACCION International, was featured in Newsweek’s October 2005 cover story. In the article, she notes “after working around the world, I decided I wanted to focus on helping women empower themselves through work so they [could] be leaders in their own lives. I started looking for a group that did that and found ACCION International, which puts small amounts of capital in the hands of poor people with businesses. Most are women.” Raised in Bolivia, Otero realized her opportunity to support entrepreneurs in poor and low-income nations through microfinancing and ACCION’s work. “The real outcome will manifest itself in the education and choices that will open up for their children,” Otero told Fast Company magazine when ACCION was selected as one of “25 Groups That Are Changing the World.”

And, how does being a woman make a difference? “Being a woman makes me a better manager,” said Otero in the Newsweek article. “We reinforce each other. In some ways, being able to develop a management-leadership style that is based on forming a team is very much in line with the way I interact with my sisters or other women. We’re all in it together.”

Liat Weingart © MADRELiat Weingart, U.S./Israel-Palestine As co-director of Jewish Voice for Peace, Liat Weingart has led an international campaign against the U.S.-based Caterpillar Corporation, which sells bulldozers to the Israeli army, which uses them to demolish Palestinian homes. Soon after she was hired, Weingart convinced the JVP board to make Caterpillar an organizational priority. She has subsequently spoken at Caterpillar’s annual shareholder meeting, organized direct actions around the country, and mobilized several faith-based organizations to join the effort. Weingart was also selected by the international human rights organization MADRE as one of 25 “Young Women Inspiring Change.”

** For more profiles of inspiring women, check out the Women’s Learning Partnership's online Directory of Women Leaders, particularly those from the Global South.

** Perspectives’ action page shows how you can support campaigns for gender equality, work with other women to promote peace, and make your voice heard on policies that affect the rights of women and girls. Find out how you can get involved today!

** Talkback: Leave your comments below!