Madeeha Hasan Odhaib
May 12, 2008 – 7:00 am
Last week we told you about Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People. In case you didn’t get a chance to check it out, we wanted to highlight some of our favorites. The last few posts are some of our favorite women from the list, and tomorrow we will show you our favorite men.
For thousands of displaced families across Baghdad Madeeha Hasan Odhaib is an angel of hope. She became a local legend after fighting off burglars who tried to rob her house at gunpoint. The acclaim from that story helped her win a city-council position and ever since then she has dedicated her life to helping the homeless. Partnering with humanitarian aid groups such as Red Cross and Hands of Mercy, Odhaib regularly delivers food, clothing, and various supplies to families in need, despite constant death threats from rebel leaders.
In addition to providing much needed aid, Odhaib has also helped many Iraqi women help themselves by giving them a chance to make a living. Using 60 sewing machines she was able to procure from various non-profit groups she created a sewing company that employs over 100 seamstresses. In addition, she recently won contracts from the Ministry of Health to make thousands of hospital gowns and bed sheets and another government contract to make 1,000 Iraqi flags. Odhaib truly is a hero, and has definitely earned her nickname as the “Mother Teresa of Baghdad”.
-JH
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