Collectiva Shamila

Sharq.Org inaugurated and nurtured a collective of women changemakers across the Arabic speaking region in 2022 in its third collaboration with Firma Alexandra Sandels and the Swedish Institute.

Invited to name the collectiva themselves, the 30 women invited to form the inaugural cohort chose the word shamila, the feminine adjective for the word inclusive in Arabic. The cohort, made up of ten female leaders and twenty youths from diverse demographic backgrounds based in the region met online regularly over the course of a year, exchanging knowledge and brainstorming transnational initiatives that aim to enhance women’s engagement in and understanding of peacebuilding and politics.

In addition to enhancing leadership skills through the delivery of tailored training workshops and seminars, Sharq.Org mentored Collectiva Shamila members through cross-border collaborative efforts to create Taboohat, a multi-lingual digital collection of essays.

Taboohat aims to address unconscious biases that promote othering by exploring a multitude of taboos that often prevent women from active sociopolitical participation, including work, abortion and harassment.

Read their essays at Taboohat.Sharq.Org

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