Leadership, Power and Politics: Zaynab

“My name is Zaynab and I live in Dohuk, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. I work full time for The Lotus Flower and travel between the main office in Dohuk and the three camps in the region in which the Lotus Flower has centers. I am an advocate for women in any way that I can be.

I think the courses taught in the centers, although they focus mainly on tangible skills, are somewhat also leadership courses. Knowing skills that most in the community don’t know, makes the women that take our courses natural leaders, and encourages them to take positions of power within the community. Many of the women that take our courses then become the teachers of the course. That is, I think, the ultimate goal of our community - not just reaching women and girls and teaching them new skills, but also teaching them to reach into their communities to do the same.”