Meet your feminist fairy godmother Lina AbiRafeh

Strong, diverse and encouraging feminist voices are needed now more than ever, that’s why listening to the words of incredible women like Dr. Lina AbiRafeh who is like a breath of fresh air while the world around us collapses. 

If you are in need of motivation, to feel like you’re not in this fight alone or looking for proof that there are people out there who are willing to keep up the good fight, then look no further as Diary of a Feminist hears from Lina a true example of the what it means to be an intersectional feminist today.

Lina has supported countless women and girls all around the world. She’s a writer, public speaker and above all an advocate for women and girls. 

The feminist recipe 

Looking back at where her feminist journey began, Lina mentioned: “I often say that being born into a female body is already enough of a shaping for a feminist.”

However, her life between 2 very different countries also had its impacts. Lina’s parents are from Lebanon and Palestine, although she was not raised in either of those countries, instead she was brought up between Saudi Arabia and the US.

Lina said: “The locations in which I grew up contributed to my feeling of having to really be clear on who I am, what I believe in, and what identities I inherit.” 

It’s not easy to identify such complex feelings from a young age, she explained, “I didn't like how the world viewed girls, or the way I was treated, but it's hard to put a finger on these feelings when you're so young.”

This uncertainty surrounding these feelings continued for Lina until she turned 14, by then she was based in the US. She vividly recalls the moment where everything clicked, “I was in a high school class called comparative women's history, and it blew my mind.”

But the title of the class is not what you would expect, “You'd imagine it would be a class celebrating history and the amazing women who've contributed to the world but it actually wasn't that, it was our shared history of violence.” 

This unexpected realization listening to the accumulation of history of violence against women and girls, was an “unbelievable shock,” for 14 year-old Lina. What was clear from that point on was that it was upsetting enough for Lina to know she had to do something about it.

“I could not have imagined that we'd get nearly nowhere.”

Unfortunately, as we all know there is not a magic wand to wave and fix all the gender-based issues in the world. This is a problem Lina knows only too well. Talking about her career achievements she said there is not a defining moment and believes we are all doing our small part to make a collective change. 

She thought for a moment and added, “if you would have asked me at 14, when I started, would I still be here at this year? Would I still be doing the same shit day in and day out and getting absolutely nowhere? No, I never would have believed that. I would have said, absolutely not.”

Reflecting back for example she recalled going to her first march outside Planned Parenthood at 15 years old. “I'm a lot older than that now, and I still need to be marching outside. I cannot believe the way we are. It is extremely discouraging.”

Despite this, she tries to sustain hopes, and bounces back to fight again and again. This is how it has to be, Lina said, “because if I shrugged and said, well, that didn't work, everybody can easily do that and we'd all give up.”

Over the years, Lina has become that person you go to for support and compassion, the one you use a sounding board, or that you ask for advice. “I've been called a fairy godmother and I think that's true,” she said with a smile.

Carrying a heavy load 

In a TedTalk Lina highlighted how natural disasters or war only heighten the risk for women. 

“The thing is after a war or natural disaster, after all the chaos, all the things we count on to protect us and support us, all of those things are damaged and destroyed.” 

She continued saying, “at those times you would think we would all stick together but that is not really what happens. At those times sexual violence increases so when we think the emergency is over for women it is just beginning.”

Changing the way she has been responding to crises has been an important change to make for Lina. In the past she would work on the ground, supporting women directly in crises, for decades Lina was there traveling to countries like Afghanistan, Haiti, Nepal and many more.

Though it came to a point where things had to change. “I don't respond in the way that I used to anymore. I do it from the back end and that's not because I stopped caring. That is because I realized that I wanted to keep going for another two decades more, then I had to find another way to do it.”

That being said, Lina stressed, there is a need for online activism and in-person work. “There will always be experiences that require that you are there, as yes all the information it's all at our fingertips. But there is no substitute for having been there.”

In more recent times she has shifted from emergencies on the ground into academia. To reflect on her incredible life and all its twists and turns Lina is in the process of writing a memoir. A process that she noted is emotionally challenging. Describing the stages of writing the memoir she said: “It really is confronting because you have to ask yourself those questions, like, did I achieve what I want to?”

“I think there is something fundamentally wrong with the world when ending sexual violence is a career rather than common sense.”

To end the insightful conversation, Politics4Her asked Lina what is one thing she wished that she were asked more often. Lina wishes she heard more from people asking: “How can I help you? What can I do?” She added, “I want people to be inspired enough that they want to be part of it.”

About the Author:

Olivia Hooper is the communications co-lead at Politics4Her, she is a British journalist and editor with a degree in translation. Olivia uses her career in journalism to advocate on gender-based issues surrounding women and girls.