#SheDefends, a one-month media campaign highlighting the activities of WHRDs in the MENA region.The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have been featured in international headlines for ages, with a specific emphasis on wars, terrorism, and refugees. This hyper-sensationalist trend which emphasizes violence over the region’s gains is unlikely to change any time soon. It is extremely difficult to expand on discussions pertaining to women human rights defenders (WHRD) and be heard when most international attention is focused solely on conflict, war, and violence.
Yet, the WHRD Coalition in the Middle East and North Africa is committed to amplifying the voices of hundreds of extraordinary women, who are, despite the dire situation, fighting stereotypes, pushing boundaries, and building new pillars for their societies. WHRDs in the MENA believe that ongoing wars, bombs, and crisis affect their lives as strongly as patriarchy does, and the latter should not be neglected under the shadow of the former. When WHRDs visualize a tomorrow for their societies, they envision societies in which there is no war, neither on the ground nor on women’s bodies. What our coalition and WHRDs strive for are societies in which there are absolutely no obstacles for women to participate in the political, social, and economic spheres.
What our coalition and WHRDs strive for are societies in which there are absolutely no obstacles for women to participate in the political, social, and economic spheres.
