PROUD TO BE WOMAN: ZAINAB SALBI

March 17th, 2009

Zaina B.

Zaini B.

Another installment in our “Proud to be Woman” conversation series to celebrate International Women’s Day features one of the most inspirational women we’ve ever met - Zainab Salbi. Raised in war-torn Iraq, Zainab survived and went on to found Women for Women International, and has helped countless female survivors of violence and conflict rebuild their lives and contribute to the political and economic health of their societies.

What inspires you? Everything in life inspires me from the feel of the sun’s heat, thesmell of a flower, to the look of a small insect. Growing up in Iraq, my mother used to tell me that the best way to show gratitude on a daily basis is by celebrating life, laughing, and dancing. And throughout the years, as I work with women survivors of wars and all kinds of atrocities and horror, I am constantly inspired by their ability to still find their laughter, their voice, and their dancing as they try to reconstruct their lives back together and make sense at what they have witnessed. I am inspired by women’s resilience and ability to triumphdespite all odds. They remind me that human spirit, like the sun, will always shine.


What makes you proud to be a woman? I am proud of the beauty, creativity, and initiatives women take to bring tranquility into this world. I am amazed that despite poverty, wars, and violence, I always find women planting flowers in their gardens or small pots in their huts or mud rooms. Beauty is part of womanhood and I am grateful to be a woman for that.

I am equally proud of the creativity and initiatives women take to bring peace into the world. Women are disproportionately impacted by all the crisis in the world from poverty to HIV to global warming. And though their voices are not represented in political discussions, in reality you find women who are so innovative, creative, and entrepreneurial as they address these challenges in their lives and that of their families. I am so proud to be a woman for the strength women have.

What are you celebrating this month? Inspired by my mother’s words, I will be dancing this month. Dancing to celebrate women’s incredible strength, beauty, creativity and the relationships, care, and love women bring into this world. And with our dancing, I hope the world hears the power of women and recognizes that we can not sustain peace in this world without the full inclusion of women’s voices in all discussions, in all decisions.

As the 13th century Sufi poet Rumi wrote:

Dance when you’re broken open.

Dance if you’ve torn the bandage off.

Dance in the middle of the fighting.

Dance in your blood.

Dance when you’re perfectly free.

Read Elle MacPherson Proud to be Woman…

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