Countries in Crisis: the Power of Women

Written by Jan Jaben-Eilon Tuesday, June 07 2011

Edit Schlaffer, left, and Shahira Amin, right, EgyptianTV reporter

Edit Schlaffer, a social scientist, was running a think tank that focused on gender issues when she learned that the women in Bosnia who were raped during the war there had no tools to help them restart their lives. She discovered that rape isn’t considered grounds for gaining asylum. Then she decided she no longer wanted to just study: “I wanted to do something.”

While working with a group of political scientists in Afghanistan, Schlaffer realized that they could use their tools to document the plight of Afghan women.

“We did a study of women who – underground – courageously kept civil society going,” despite the constant wars in their country,” she says. “When I saw these women who went across the border into Pakistan to meet with us, I quit my job at the think tank.”

Schlaffer decided to focus on women in crises and establish projects that could help women come together, share their experiences, work together, improve their economic situation, and, thus, have a louder voice in their communities and more power. She launched an international advocacy, public relations, and lobbying organization called Women Without Borders, based in Vienna.

Nawal al Saadawi, left, at her home in Egypt, where she fights for women’s personal and political freedom

The organization offers a “forum through which women’s voices can be heard and their concerns made public,” according to its mission statement. Women Without Borders supports the inclusion and participation of women in all areas of the decision-making process. And, the group stands for nonviolent conflict resolution in countries in transition or undergoing reconstruction.

That’s why Schlaffer is focusing her work on the countries experiencing the “Arab Spring.”

“It’s a very critical moment in Egypt,” she says. But the women there say the United States should not send them money because there’s no way to know where the money goes. Instead, they say, “Send expertise and advice. Train people; bring in a brigade of people and help us learn how to function in a democratic fashion.”

Egyptian women appealed to her group to be the “bridge to alert the international community to make sure women are not sidelined as institution-building is about to start,” Schlaffer says. “If we are not on guard, the post-Mubarak Egypt will be a women-free zone.”

Schlaffer met several women with whom she became friends. She specifically mentioned Shahira Amin, who resigned her post as an anchorwoman at Nile Television because the station was not reporting on the massacres happening in Tahrir Square during the recent uprising and she felt she’d have the blood of those victims on her hands.

Amin now works with BBC, CNN, and Al Jazeera and was the only reporter with whom U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton agreed to an interview on her recent visit to Cairo.

Hibaaq Osman, right, new member of the Women Without Borders board

In Yemen, Schlaffer says, she was amazed how vibrant the women’s nongovernmental organization (NGO) world was in Sana’a, the capitol. “They are very eager to network with each other.”

Most of the funding for Women Without Borders comes from various governments. Initially, it came from Austria. In November 2008, the organization launched a new global campaign called SAVE: Sisters Against Violent Extremism. SAVE, which is partly funded by the U.S. State Department, brings together women from across the globe to help fight extremism.

“There’s a real potential for women to play a role in these volatile areas,” Schlaffer says.

In India, Women Without Borders worked with female victims of the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai. “There was nothing for them, no support. We brought them together to share their stories, which is not in their culture. We created groups, found local leaders and a funder, and provided empowerment training,” Schlaffer says. Her organization also assisted with language skills and tools to help the women find jobs.

The tension between India and Pakistan is not new, but, Schlaffer suggests, talks between country leaders is not enough.

“They need talks on the grassroots level, so we brought Pakistani and Indian women together,” she says. “At first they wouldn’t even look at each other; but afterwards, they became friends.”

Women Without Borders also launched a program for mothers. MOVE stands for Mothers Opposing Violent Extremism. The first MOVE conference was to be held in Vienna early this month. The campaign is focusing on Yemen, Pakistan, India, Palestine, Indonesia, and Northern Ireland.

Bothaina Kemal, the first and only woman running for president in Egypt

“We’ve talked to mothers who fear their children may go in the wrong direction. Many of these women feel isolated; they’ve never felt brave enough to take the first step,” Schlaffer says. “When women come together as a group, it gives them more confidence.”

She tells the story of interviewing mothers of terrorists. The women tell her, she says, “If I’d known my neighbor had the same problem, we would have come up with some solution. Women together can be so much more powerful.”

The good news, Schlaffer says, is that “men are less and less reluctant for women to join the work force. The money is needed for survival. And if women can contribute to the economic situation, they have more standing in the community.”

Recently Women Without Borders changed its own fundraising mechanism. The group has always worked with existing NGOs in a country to keep costs down. And previously, most of its funds came from various countries. With the economies of many countries in poor shape, Schlaffer says, they had to try a totally new approach. They created Friends of Women Without Borders in the United States so that people can make tax-deductible contributions.

Austrian-born Schlaffer herself will soon be coming to the United States for fundraising and to increase awareness of her organization.

Jan Jaben-Eilon was a founding staff writer of the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Since then, she has been the international editor of Advertising Age magazine and has written for such publications as The New York Times, International Herald Tribune, Washington Journalism Review, and Consumer Reports. She is the author of soon-to-be-published (There is) Life After Cancer. Jan and her husband have homes in Atlanta and Jerusalem.