Woman, Life, Freedom / Jin, Jîyan, Azadî

On this International Women's Day, I felt compelled to celebrate all the women who have supported me along the way. My dear friends, classmates in the universities that I have attended and colleagues I have met along the way throughout my career.

As I write this post from Erbil, Iraq this morning as a war wages across the Middle East, across the skies of Erbil, I mourn the loss of an Iraqi woman who fought for women's rights in this land. Yanar Mohammed was assassinated in Baghdad on March 2, 2026. May her achievements and memory ignite new women to rise up!

Today is a day to recognize and honor where we are now. It is a day to remember the women on whose shoulder's I stand. I honor those who came before me to fight for Women's Suffrage globally. Most recently, I read the book, Hello Girls, which opened my eyes to the role women played in the telecommunications industry, then World War I and how that led to USA women's right to vote. After so many years of suffragettes fighting for that right!

As an educator, I cannot help but think about this special day through the lens of opportunities to inquire. For those of you in the classroom, I wonder if there where you can integrate leadership studies into morning meetings through an inquiry into women role models. Our fight is not over for women globally; we still struggle to feel safe in all spaces including AI. We struggle to compete fairly and honestly, to make space for one another. For this I am grateful to see groups like WomenEd forming. Their posts on LinkendIn encourage me and other women to keep moving forward.

Today, I reflect on Woman, Life, Freedom / Jin, Jîyan, Azadî

Yanar Mohammed, co-founder and director of the Organisation for Women's Freedom in Iraq, speaks to reporters in Baghdad, Iraq, in 2005 [File: Wathiq Khuzaie/Getty]

Women in Leadership Cross Comparison Chart.pdf
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frayer_model__gender_equality.pdf
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Analyse consequences of choices using a consequences chart.

Consequences Chart.pdf
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women_in_leadership_venn_diagram.pdf
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A Thousand Braids of Resistance by Qassim Khidhir at the Kurdistan Chronicle

Ghiath Naqshbandi, a researcher with an MA in International Studies, describes the braid as an “existential symbol” of Kurdish womanhood, something closer to honor than ornament. “Historically speaking, for Kurdish women, the braid was her dignity,” he says.

​In stories passed down through generations, cutting a braid could signal profound grief or a sacred vow. “A woman would cut her braid to express deep love or profound grief,” Naqshbandi says. “It is woven deeply into our culture.”

Text copied from A Might Girl: Even in the face of constant threats, Yanar Mohammed's defining belief never wavered: "We women are capable of knowing what is best for us, our families, and our communities." She proved it every day for 22 years -- in the shelters she built, the women she saved, and the movement she refused to let die.

That movement is still standing. OWFI has pledged to keep the safe houses open. And MADRE, Yanar's decades-long partner in this work, has launched the Yanar Mohammed Feminist Defense Fund -- "Yanar's Fund" -- to make sure they can.

The Fund covers emergency relocation for activists now facing threats, security upgrades, legal defense, and the leadership development needed to carry her work forward. The immediate goal is $500,000. The long-term vision is a permanent endowment that will honor Yanar's legacy for generations.

The most powerful thing we can do this International Women's Day is make sure the institutions Yanar built to protect and empower women survive.

To support Yanar Mohammed Feminist Defense Fund, visit https://support.madre.org/campaign/776576/donate