Nalan Dal, International Fundraising coordinator of IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation, was among more than two hundred participants of the International Women’s Forum, held on April 7, and initiated by the Muslim Women’s League of Ukraine and the Social Organisation "Maryam".
Ms. Dal took the floor during the workshop of one of three forum platforms, in particular, "Active women are the guarantee of the communities’ success", dedicated to the Muslim women’s self-realization. And she had something to tell her sisters: she was organizer and participant of the "Convoy of Conscience", who gathered more than ten thousand participants from all over the world near the Syrian border with demands to release women, retained in Asad’s prisons. She also is a co-founder of Pakistani NPO. She participated in humanitarian work in Afghanistan after September 11, 2001. Ms. Dal approved herself actively during the overland humanitarian convoy sending to Gaza in 2009 and in the "Freedom Flotilla" in 2010.
Addressing the audience, the activist noted that every woman can make her own contribution to the struggle for human rights, justice and peace.
“I am not cleverer than any other person. I am not as good as you are, beautiful women, in your wonderful country — gorgeous women, and apparently, I am not as wealthy or rich as many people in this world. But it is I, who wanted to do something good for humanity — and Allah blessed me in this field! If you conceived something and asked Almighty for something, if your desire is so strong that you are dying — so that much you want to achieve it, Allah will open all doors to you!”
Nalan Dal stressed that only a selfless desire to do something good not for the sake of her own benefit or glory, but for the humanity’s sake, and sincere belief in Allah, helped her to do so much to save lives and to improve the situation of those who suffered from various troubles or oppressions.
“I managed to reach, touch, cure from pain about a thousand people, save some, or even a lot of children and orphans! All this thanks to the blessing and mercy of Allah, who gave me the opportunity to alter many people’s lives for the better. It is said in Quran that those who know and those who ignore are not equal. The more you get involved in different activities, the more you become acquainted with people. And, accordingly, the more you get acquainted with their troubles, problems, depressions, confrontations ... The more you know, the more responsibility falls on your shoulders. So it turns out — more duties — more work, the harder it feels — the luckier you are, because you know more!
At the end of her speech, the activist made an appeal to women to participate more actively in worthwhile cause and volunteering.
Background information:
The Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (IHH) was founded in 1994. It carries out campaigns providing humanitarian assistance in accordance with United Nations’ standards and principles. In addition to its advisory membership in the UN, IHH is a member of many international organisations, such as the Humanitarian Forum of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Humanitarian Forum, the Union of NGOs of the Islamic World, and others. The Foundation operates in 120 countries.
