If you haven't come across TIME's list of the World's 100 Most Influential People yet, go ahead and check out the listing for Ms. Madeeha Hassan Odthaib, one of Baghdad's leading activists and a member of the Karada District Council of Baghdad. Madeeha has been involved with the plight of displaced persons in Baghdad and is an inspiring example of somebody who just refuses to sit by watch a crisis unfold without doing anything about it. A few months ago I had the chance to sit down with her and talk about the sectarian violence that drove much of Baghdad's displacement crisis. She told me about her efforts to galvanize a reluctant government bureacracy to effectively provide assistance to needy families in her community; her personal activism generated the energy necessary to convince local leaders to respond -- and their actions led to greater attention by the national government. I saw her again a few days ago, just before her trip to New York to attend TIME's gala event for those on the list. We facilitated a session between a group of Baghdad's notable activists, civic leaders and political independents, and we were all proud to see Madeeha's hard work and example be recognized in such a high profile way.
Here is the article from TIME:
Madeeha Hasan Odhaib
By Queen Rania
It's not every day that success stories echo out of Iraq into the halls of power, but Madeeha Hasan Odhaib defies the norm. Armed with her sewing machine, unflinching stoicism and determination, Madeeha, 37, is mending the fabric of Iraq.
Four years ago, this mother of two and seamstress turned district council member took three sewing machines, leveraged them into 60 and built a business sewing hospital sheets and flags. She now employs 100 women. That figure may seem insignificant compared with the accomplishments of other achievers on TIME's list. But in a country with more than 60% unemployment and rampant poverty, such efforts provide a lifeline. Each woman Madeeha employs returns home with an invaluable sense of self-respect, money in her purse, food for her children and optimism for a daughter desperately seeking a role model amid mayhem. Madeeha also treads—or, rather, threads—the line between activism and heroism. She has coordinated with the Red Crescent, Red Cross, Hands of Mercy and Iraqi army to distribute food around Baghdad. And despite threats, she says she'll never give up.
Iraq is suffering one of the worst humanitarian crises we have ever seen. While Madeeha rightly makes Time's list, women like her are found throughout Iraq, sewing hope one stitch at a time. Through Madeeha, we celebrate all of Iraq's courageous women, whose resilience and resourcefulness hold the promise of a new dawn.
