She has seen women displaced and children exposed to danger.
But as the founder and program director for Womankind Kenya, she helps to empower communities and create change in the lives of people affected by conflict.
Al-Haji was one of four panelists in a discussion about peace and stability, held Nov. 15 at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC. Sponsored by the International Women's Media Foundation, the Centre for Development and Population Activities and the Center for Women Policy Studies, the event featured women leaders in conflict-affected countries.
“The challenges we have are many,” said Al-Haji, who attributes her desire to make an impact in her country to the strength of her mother.
“I know in my heart that we have a common interest,” said Catherine Adifaka, a panelist who is a commissioner for the public service commission of the prime minister’s office in the Solomon Islands. Adifaka said her faith is what drives her to work to ease conflict. She has helped to build women’s presence in politics in the Solomon Islands.
Women and young people are the most vulnerable groups in a conflict, said Leslie Wolfe, president of the Center for Women Policy Studies, in the introduction to the discussion. Being forced to leave their homes compounds their risk by making them more susceptible to physical or sexual assault.
But Al-Haji, Adifaka and many other women are making their voices heard, said Yolanda Richardson, president and CEO of CEDPA and the discussion moderator.
“In conflict is opportunity,” said Srijana Adhikari. She works for the Nepal Student Union and recognizes the importance of harnessing young people’s energy and turning it into a peaceful, meaningful presence within her country.
“Democracy isn’t sustainable without peace,” she said.
Rasha Almahdi of the Sudan National Population Council is also looking for a peaceful solution to the conflict in Darfur. She hopes to bring development issues to the attention of policy makers and “come up with a brighter future.”
Because the power for change resides in the leadership of these and other women, it’s important for stories such as theirs to be told, said Jane Ransom, executive director of the IWMF, at the close of the event.
For Al-Haji, staying motivated to initiate change and ease conflict comes down to this:
“I can do it and I will do it,” she said.