Alaa Murabit

Alaa Murabit (born 1989) is a Canadian physician, one of 17 Global Sustainable Development Goals Advocates appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, and a UN High-Level Commissioner on Health Employment and Economic Growth. In 2016 she founded a global Mentorship Programme for emerging leaders and co-founded The Omnis Institute, an independent non-profit organisation committed to challenging critical global issues through the empowerment of emerging local leaders, and became the executive director of Phase Minus 1, which provides thought leadership in conflict resolution and inclusive security. Alaa previously founded and spearheaded Voice of Libyan Women at the age of 21. Her TED Talk, released in July 2015, "What my religion really says about women" was selected as the TED Talk of the Day and one of four moving TED Talks you should watch right now by The New York Times.^[1]

At the age of 15 Alaa completed high school and moved from Saskatoon, Canada to Zawia, Libya. It was there that she enrolled in medical school and founded Voice of Libyan Women at the age of 21. With a strong focus on challenging societal and cultural norms and utilizing traditional and historical role models, Murabit champions women's participation in peace processes and conflict mediation. An international expert in international security, peacebuilding, sustainable development, leadership, global health policy and negotiation, her policies and programs are replicated internationally.

An MIT Media Lab Director's Fellow, Ashoka fellow, and International Deliver For Good Influencer, Alaa serves as a board member for The Malala Fund, International Alert, Malaria No More UK, and Women’s March Global. In 2017, Murabit was named a member of the Helena Group, an "elite and edgy" think tank of global leaders focused on executing projects that improve the world.

Murabit is a Forbes 30 Under 30, one of Canada’s Top 25 Most Influential Women,^[2] and the 2018 Nelson Mandela International Changemaker. Her leadership in global policy and security was recognized by Harvard Law who named her the youngest 2017 Woman Inspiring Change.^[3] In 2018 she was recognized as one of 100 Canadian Women of Impact^[4], SheKnows Media BlogHer Voice of the Year, and an Aspen Institute Spotlight Scholar. She has previously been named the Marisa Bellisario International Humanitarian by the Italian Government, the 2014 International TrustWomen Hero by The New York Times, one of 25 women under 25 to watch by Newsweek, a 100 Top Woman by the BBC and the SAFE Global Hero.

Murabit received her Medical Doctorate in from the University of Zawiya in 2013. She went on to receive a Masters in International Strategy and Diplomacy with Distinction from the LSE in 2016 with research focused on inclusive security and securitization processes.

Early life

Murabit was born and raised in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, the sixth of eleven children in her family. Her father is a doctor.^[5] She has stated that, although she initially had no plans on advocating women's rights, her parents' equal treatment of her and her brothers played an extremely important role in the way she viewed the world, "I know that I have a duty to every child to recognize and cultivate their own sense of leadership, because had it not been for my mother, I would not have recognized or claimed my own space to lead."^[6] Murabit has stated her greatest role models are members of her family, including her eldest sister, Amera Murabit,^[7] a world-renowned plastic surgeon and volunteers her time in conflict zones and humanitarian disasters.^[8]

After completing high school at age fifteen, she moved with members of her family to Zawiya, Libya in 2005 where she studied medicine at the University of Zawiya.

Career

Murabit founded Voice of Libyan Women in August 2011 and acted as president until 2015. She has explained that VLW was founded following the 2011 Libyan Revolution while in her final year of medical school."^[9] The organization pushes for inclusive peace processes and conflict mediation by shifting the paradigm around the role of women in society at both the grassroots and policy level and is best known for researching women's security, advocating against gender violence, training women to participate in government and ensure women are recognized in national policies.

Dr. Alaa Murabit addresses the "United Nations Security Council" in October 2015

VLW's Noor Campaign was the focus of Murabit's 2015 TED talk. The campaign challenged the misrepresentation and misuse of religion to negate women's rights. The Noor Campaign is based on community leaders and "brought together over 600 local community leaders, including those who had never worked in civil society before". Working with a network of hundreds of community organizations throughout Libya, including Ayadina Charity in Benghazi, Mothers for Martyrs and The Southern Women's Forum, the campaign reached over 35 cities and communities, as far south as Ghat, Libya on the southern Libyan border, Tobruk and Bayda on the Eastern border and Nalut and Ghadames in the west. The campaign and methodology have since been replicated internationally.

In 2013, she spoke at the Women in the World summit. "During the revolution, I saw phenomenally brave women taking a leading role," Murabit told Lesley Stahl. She said that one important way of empowering women is by teaching them their religion so they can challenge violence against women that is committed in the name of faith. "Often when violence happens, people excuse it with religion," Murabit said. "Young girls need to know that they can fight fire with fire and say, 'No, my religion is not why you are doing this.'"^[5]

She has maintained that peace is only achievable through communities, "The only real solution, the only way to get that grenade or gun put down safely is by filling his hands and head with something else. A pencil, a paycheck, a diploma, a dream – by building up people, by creating institutions we break down wars. By strengthening local peace builders we give them the tools to change their communities from within."^[10]

In July 2014 Murabit was appointed a member of the United Nations 1325 Advisory Board, which monitors the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace, and security. She has been an Ashoka Fellow since September 2014 and has been an Advisor to UN Women Global Civil Society Advisory Group since October 2014.^[11] She is also a founding coalition member of Harvard University's "Everywoman, Everywhere" initiative.^[12]

In May 2015 she also addressed an official TED audience, where she received a standing ovation for her talk, released in July 2015 as an official "Ted Talk of the Day".^[13] The New York Times selected it as one of '4 moving TED Talks you should watch right now', "Alaa Murabit, founder of The Voice of Libyan Women, explores Islam and its impact on laws and cultural and societal structures involving gender. During her speech, Murabit asks: "Why if we are equal in the eyes of God are we not equal in the eyes of men?" It's a question she pondered as a young 15-year-old Muslim girl, the middle child of 11, who moved from Libya to Canada in the early 1980s. As she explores her answer, Murabit highlights ways her childhood emphasized the importance of women's leadership and participation and shares why a similar structure can challenge the "distorted religious messaging" plaguing so many religions when it comes to their attitudes toward women."^[14]

Dr. Alaa Murabit at the European Development Days 2016

In October 2015 Murabit was selected as the Civil Society Speaker for the 15th Anniversary Open Debate of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325^[15] and in January 2016 she became the youngest appointee of 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Global Advocates ^[16] and later that year she was named a UN High-Level Commissioner on Health Employment and Economic Growth.^[17]

In early 2017 Murabit was named the executive director of Phase Minus 1 and an International Deliver for Good Influencer. She is a board member of International Alert, Keeping Children Safe, Malaria No More and The Malala Fund and was named a member of the Helena Group, an "elite and edgy" think tank of global leaders focused on executing projects that improve the world.

She has spoken at leading international conferences including TED, World Economic Forum, WIRED, Munich Security Conference and Hilton Foundation Symposium.

Honours and awards

• 2018 One of 100 Canadian "Women of Impact"
• 2018 Top 25 Women of Influence in Canada
• 2018 SheKnows MediaBlogHer Global Citizen Voice of the Year ^[18]
• 2018 Nelson Mandela Foundation Nelson Mandela Changemaker Award recipient
• 2018 FQ Modern Guide To Equality Trailblazer
• 2018 Muslims For Peace Interfaith Peace Award
• 2018 Global Citizen Award
• 2018 UN Foundation +SocialGood HealthHero^[19]
• 2017 Forbes 30 Under 30^[20]
• 2017 Harvard Law: Youngest "Woman Inspiring Change"^[21]
• 2017 Bay St. Bull: Canada's 30x30^[22]
• 2017 LinkedIn: Leader
• 2017 Women Deliver: Named a Deliver For Good Global Influencer alongside José Mujica, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau^[23]
• 2017 Who What Wear: Named one of 6 Global Womaneers^[24]
• 2017 Aspen Institute: Aspen Scholar
• 2017 Maastricht University: Opening Academic Year Honoree
• 2016 MIT Media Lab Director's Fellow ^[25]
• 2016 United Nations: Appointed as one of 17 UN Global Sustainable Development Goal Advocates by the UN Secretary-General alongside Messi, Erna Solberg, Jeffrey Sachs and others ^[26]
• 2016 United Nations: Named a UN High-Level Commissioner on Health Employment and Economic Growth.^[17]
• 2015 Helena Group Inductee
• 2015 Selected to Address UN Security Council on the occasion of 15th anniversary of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325^[27]
• 2015 TED Talk of the Day ^[28]
• 2014 BBC Top 100 Woman ^[29]
• 2014 Ashoka Fellow.^[30]
• 2014 Safe Magazine "Global Hero" and cover person.^[31]
• 2013 New York Times and Thomson Reuters "TrustWomen Hero" in December 2013: "Alaa is a natural leader, and her organization has achieved tremendous tangible impact for women both in politics and society," said HM Queen Noor, Founder and Chair of the Noor Al Hussein and the King Hussein Foundations and Trust Women Advisory Board Member, who presented her with the Trust Women Award. "Alaa's bold thinking and fearless attitude are an inspiration for all women to be the architects of their own future."
• 2013 Marisa Bellisario International Humanitarian Award from the President of the Italian Republic.^[32]
• 2013 Women Waging Peace Inductee
• 2013 Newsweek "One of 25 women under 25 to watch in 2013."
• 2012 International Herald Tribune and Thomson Reuters "TrustWomen Hero Award" finalist

Publications

Murabit has written articles for The Carter Center,^[33] NewAmerica,^[34] Chime for Change,^[35] Huffington Post,^[36] and The Christian Science Monitor.^[37] She is a contributing writer for the bestselling feminist anthology Feminists Don't Wear Pink (and other lies)^[38]

Education

She studied at the College of Medicine at the University of Zawiya in Libya from 2006 to 2013, and worked at Zawiya Teaching Hospital and at various makeshift clinics during the 2011 civil war.^[9][11] When the war began, her father became involved almost immediately with the rebels, providing medical care for rebel soldiers, appearing in SkyNews footage with Alex Crawford under the name "Dr. M", creating insecurity for her family.^[39]

Murabit received her Medical Doctorate in from the University of Zawia in 2013. She went on to receive a Masters in International Strategy and Diplomacy with Distinction from the LSE in 2016 with research focused on inclusive security and securitization processes.

See also

• List of peace activists

References

External links

• Alaa Murabit at TED
• http://webtv.un.org/watch/alaa-murabit-ngo-voice-of-libyan-women-on-women-peace-and-security-security-council-7533rd-meeting/4555308972001