Karama In the News
Hibaaq Osman on Youth, Social Media, and Women in the Egyptian Revolution
“I never thought in my lifetime I would see a revolution unfolding under my eyes. It was a moment of uncertainty and excitement,” said Hibaaq Osman when she sat down with DLD Women to speak more in-depth on the Egyptian revolution in February and the essential contributions of youth and social media. In her reflection, Ms. Osman shares her personal experiences and observations from the days of revolution in Egypt, including descriptions of the Egyptian people and their protective nature toward each other, for instance, the way they came down to protect one another and their property in the days when the police could no longer be found in the streets.
“It is a nation that literally came together in every sense,” she says.
Karama Delegation Reviews Jordan's CEDAW Compliance
A four-woman delegation from Jordan, including NGO representatives from Karama and its partners the Arab Women’s Organization and SIGI, participated in the Pre-Session Working Group of the CEDAW Committee at the UN this week sharing their concerns and identifying gaps in Jordan’s efforts to implement the articles of CEDAW and uphold the rights of women. They had the opportunity to present a prepared oral statement and answer questions directly from the Committee members to help frame their review of Jordan in the 51st CEDAW session scheduled for Geneva in February 2012.
Hibaaq Osman: Women Leading the Way in Yemen
The Huffington Post recently published this op-ed by Karama CEO and Founder, Hibaaq Osman:
Glued simultaneously to the TV, Blackberry, laptop, and my own windows, I watched Arab politics come back to life just a few short weeks ago. As someone who has devoted her life to promoting women's human rights and political participation, I continue to rejoice at the role women are playing in the ongoing revolutions spreading across the Arab world. The Western media seem surprised that women are on the streets, raising their voices, protesting for democracy, and walking side by side with men who all want the same thing -- political reform and equal rights. They shouldn't be.
Karama Featured in IPS: Egyptian Women and Men, Shoulder to Shoulder
Karama founder and CEO Hibaaq Osman was featured in this February 26 article from IPS News:
The momentous events of Tahrir Square, Egypt also signify a huge step forward for gender equality in the region, women's rights activists said Friday.
Nora Rafeh Refa Tahtawi, a youth activist who participated in the Tahrir protests and is now in New York for the two- week Commission on the Status of Women at U.N. headquarters, recalled that women stood side by side with men, all sharing the feeling that they belonged to the same movement with the same goals.
Jordan Times: Karama Think Tank Discusses Impact of Armed Conflicts on Women
From the Jordan Times:
AMMAN ––– Despite being the main victims in regional armed conflicts, women are still excluded from playing a role in conflict resolution and peace negotiations, women's rights leaders said on Tuesday.
During the closing meeting of the Arab Women’s Intellectual Organisation, discussions focused on the impact of armed conflicts on women in Iraq, Sudan, Yemen, Lebanon and Palestine.
"Politics is seen as an exclusively male domain in Iraq… Iraqi women are facing tremendous challenges to take part in conflict resolution at decision-making levels," Iraqi activist Salma Jabou said, adding that there are currently about one million widows in Iraq.
Karama Founder Hibaaq Osman Interviewed on VOA Radio
Karama Founder and CEO Hibaaq Osman was recently featured on the Voice of America’s Somali website, in a podcast of her interview conducted with VOA journalist Houssein Aden regarding the status of Somali women and their fight for expanded rights. The interview can be accessed at VOA’s website here (in Somali), and is summarized (in English) below.
In an interview with the Somali Service of Voice of America, Hibaaq describes that Karama works across 22 countries and that she strives to ensure internationally agreed upon conventions and treaties, which regard protection of women across those countries, are upheld.
Karama featured in the Jordan Times
By Laila Azzeh for the Jordan Times
AMMAN –– HRH Princess Basma on Wednesday underscored the significant role Arab women play in “influencing the formation of media discourse”.
In her address at the opening of the 8th Arab Women Media Conference titled, “Arab Media, Women and their Strategic Role in the Elimination of Violence”, the Princess said women in the Arab world have achieved a “distinguished” presence and “high” credibility in the field of media.
“But there is still a need for more work and support to bring about the desired change in behaviours and attitudes towards women and their causes,” added the Princess, who is the honorary chairman of the Arab Media Women’s Centre (AMWC), which was established in 1999 under her directives to empower Arab women journalists.
An Emblem of Hope in Somaliland
by Karama Founder and CEO Hibaaq Osman
Appeared in Common Ground News, 27 July 2010
Cairo - In Somaliland’s 26 June presidential elections, voters were faced with a pivotal choice in determining their future prosperity, security, freedom and peace. On that date, which marked the 50th anniversary of Somaliland’s independence from British rule, citizens voted to change the current regime that they feel has been growing increasingly ineffectual and promote a new party through the election of opposition leader Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo, who was inaugurated on 27 July.
Karama in the Jordan Times: Initiative seeks to raise awareness on Family Protection Law
Appeared in the Jordan Times
6 June 2010
By Laila Azzeh
AMMAN - Legal experts and women activists on Saturday underlined the importance of the Family Protection Law as a step in the right direction, although they said the legislation did not live up to their expectations.
During a training workshop to raise awareness on the law’s provisions, organised by the Karama Organisation in cooperation with the Cultural Forum of the Blind and the Young Women’s Christian Association, participants noted that some of the articles have yet to be fully applied, hindering efforts to eliminate domestic violence in the Kingdom.
Let an Arab woman lead way at UN
The UN is creating a unified body to promote gender equality – 
and who better to lead it than an inspirational Arab woman?
By Hibaaq Osman
Appeared in the Guardian, Comment is Free
28 May 2010
When the history of the global struggle for women's equality is written, 2010 may be remembered as the year when the United Nations began living up to its full potential. The general assembly is currently studying reforms to the tangled web of agencies, offices and programmes that work to promote women's equality in order to create a single "gender entity" with an expanded budget, led by an executive at the rank of under secretary-general.