To protect her own security as well as the security of her family, Esra'a has chosen to delete all images and/or videos of herself online. This helps retain her anonymity, a very important measure in her field of work advocating for minority rights in the Middle East and North Africa. 

A dialogue with Esra'a Al Shafei, founder and director of the Mideast Youth Network. At age 27, Esra'a has been instrumental in facilitating the discussion of and providing a voice for progressive social change movements in the Middle East and North Africa. The network consists of six different websites—mideastyouth.com, mideastunes.com, crowdvoice.org, ahwaa.org, kurdishrights.org and migrant-rights.org—all harnessing the power of web platforms to shed a light on the struggles of ethnic, social and religious minority rights. 

Esra'a Al Shafei on LinkedIn

Mideast Youth Network on Facebook

Mideast Youth Network on Twitter

Tune into the interview with Esra'a and click through the corresponding slideshow below...

 

The Alliance for Kurdish Rights aims to mobilize public opinion, collect information and disseminate knowledge about human rights abuses against Kurdish people throughout the Middle East.

CrowdVoice tracks voices of protest by curating and contextualizing valuable data such as eyewitness photos, videos and reports to facilitate awareness of current social justice movements worldwide.

Mideast Tunes is a multifaceted platform for underground musicians in the Middle East and North Africa who use music as a tool for social change.

Ahwaa.org is a safe space to debate LGBTQ-related issues in the Middle East and North Africa.

Mideastunes.com

Crowdvoice.org

Migrant-rights.org