Yasmine Mahmoud Fakhry
Alexandria, Egypt
“While the international community and human rights activists emphasize that human rights are universal, inalienable and imprescriptible, the truth is that human rights are inherent only in places where the culture of human rights exists.”
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Through my work as a human rights educator, I sought to bring hope to young people and motivate them to be agents of change. I lived the happiest days of my life teaching, especially because I maintained a good rapport and a positive relationship with my students. I have been blessed by the …

Yasmine Mahmoud Fakhry
Alexandria, Egypt
“I whispered to myself that although I am not European like them they are my real brothers and sisters; they are my fellow human beings.”
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I grew up to believe that there has always been discrimination against people of different race, color, and religion throughout all ages. History lessons teach us that people have always invented all sorts of rationales for mass killings and wars. There is a general tendency not to accept someone who is not “one of us.” Differences in religion, culture, race, social class still …

Yasmine Mahmoud Fakhry
Alexandria, Egypt

“I told them that although I wept most of the time, I also laughed a lot, and that even in the time I felt great pain, I also found comfort and strength. I told them that when I cried feeling the pain of others, I felt very human, and that solidarity is the essence of humanity.”
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Being a human rights educator who struggles for human rights in Egypt, I was selected to attend a course on Applied Conflict Transformation by the Action Support Centre in Johannesburg in which …

Najuan Daadleh
Washington, DC, USA, and Palestine
Something didn’t feel right after submitting my previous piece on international development and the ‘empowerment’ of women. In this imagined letter from Hifni Malak Nassef, I tried to address the issues that “poked” me in an uncomfortable way.
Dear Ms. Daadleh,
After some time of contemplation and intrapersonal debate I decided to write this letter to you as a response to your last piece titled “Empowering women as a Development Tool”…What Would Hifni Malak Say?.
You may expect this to be a letter thanking you, Ms. Daadleh, for …