Fatma El Mehdi(also Fatma Mehdi Hassan)[1] is a Western Saharan activist. She is currently the secretary general of the National Union of Sahrawi Women.[2] El Mehdi is also the first Western Saharan woman to attend a United Nations conference for women's rights.[3] She has also served as president of the Women's Committee and Equality in Economic, Social and African Cultural Council (ECOSOCC).[4] El Mehdi has lived in an Algerian refugee camp for about forty years.[1]
Background edit
Fatma El Mehdi grew up within the ongoing conflict of Western Sahara conflict between the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic/Polisario Front and the Kingdom of Morocco. During the conflict, Saharawi women established and administered a national network that was associated with administrative ministries, educational institutions, mass civil unions, and local councils that reorganized the political and social order of Western Sahara after their national revolution.[5] She was born in Smara, Es Semara Province, Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra, Western Sahara, previous Morocco in 1969.
Childhood edit
When Fatma El Mehdi was seven, in 1975, she was evacuated from El Aaiún, escaping amidst bombs and napalm.[6][7] She walked for days with a small group of men and women without food or water until she came to one of the first Sahrawi refugee camps.[8]
Career edit
Today, Fatma El Mehdi is the Secretary-General of The National Union of Saharawi Women in New York. She is there to share the history, story and dreams of her compatriots from Western Sahara. El Mehdi is also the first Western Saharan woman to attend the United Nations conference for women's rights.[9]
Bibliography edit
References edit
- ^ a b Rowe, Peter (1 October 2016). "USD's 'Women PeaceMakers' Offer Messages That Hit Home". The San Diego Tribune. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
- ^ "AU Sensitization and motivation campaign in Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic to encourage participation in the elections for the ECOSOCC 2nd General Assembly". African Union. 9 October 2014. Archived from the original on 24 October 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
- ^ "Fighting for Women's Rights in the Western Sahara". WNYC. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
- ^ "National Union of Saharawi Women Elected Head of Ecosocc Women and Equality Committee". All Africa. 1 March 2015. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
- ^ "The Struggle of Sahrawi Women for Freedom: Fatma El-Mehdi"2012-03-06. Retrieved 2022-03-24
- ^ Unknown (2012-03-28). "Notes from Western Sahara: An Interview with Fatma El-Mehdi". Africa's last colony -Western Sahara. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
- ^ "The Struggle of Sahrawi Women for Freedom: Fatma El-Mehdi". 2012-03-06. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
- ^ "Notes from Western Sahara". Warscapes. 2012-03-22. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
- ^ "The Struggle of Sahrawi Women for Freedom: Fatma El-Mehdi" 2012-03-06. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
External links edit
- Fatma El Mehdi at CUNY Center for Peace, Culture and Politics (video)
- An Interview with Fatma El Mehdi: Western Sahara Peace and Women's Right Activist
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