MADRE
Since 1983, MADRE has built a network of community-based women's organizations in Sudan, Iraq, Nicaragua, Cuba, Haiti, Guatemala, Kenya, Peru, Colombia, Panama, Palestine and elsewhere. The women we partner with are on the frontlines of global crises. Yet, as part of the MADRE network, they know that change is not only possible - it is already happening. It is the women themselves, with MADRE, who are creating that change.
In Iraq, MADRE partners with the Organization of Women's Freedom (OWFI). Fatin is a young organizer with OWFI. She was a student at Baghdad University when the US invaded Iraq. Like many Baghdadi families, Fatin's is full of highly-educated, professional women. Her mother was a pharmacist. Her Aunt was a veterinarian. When Fatin wasn't in class, she spent time studying in one of Baghdad’s many cafes.
But everything changed after the invasion. There were the bombings, curfews, and gunfire in the night. Groups of bearded Iraqi men patrolled the streets. They looked for women like Fatin, who did not wear a headscarf, or worked at professional jobs. They screamed at them and sometimes beat them. Women's dead bodies began turning up on the streets. These were the militias of the political parties that the US had installed.
Fatin dropped out of University after being threatened by a militia member for wearing pants on campus. That's when she learned about OWFI. She began volunteering in one of OWFI's women's shelters—sanctuaries supported by MADRE for women fleeing domestic violence or threats from militias.
Fatin found friends and allies at OWFI. She found a way to sustain her hope through the darkest days of the war. With support from MADRE, OWFI has planted a seed for real peace in Iraq, where women's rights and all human rights are protected. Fatin is determined to nurture that seed.
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