Women supporting other women to become leaders

Fathiaa Abdalla

UNHCR

There are a few women who are my role models. They are women I look up to, they are strong leaders, they are my inspiration, and they want to make the world a better place where people can realise their dreams. One of these women is Fathiaa Abdalla, who is Sudanese-British, currently working in UNHCR. Fathiaa studied in several countries, Sudan, the Netherlands, the UK and Belgium. She has three decades of experience in humanitarian and development operations and held senior leadership positions in the United Nations and international NGOs in including Kenya, Afghanistan,  Iran, Yemen and Western Sahara. Her journey also took her to humanitarian -complex emergencies in North Korea, Algeria (Tindouf), Philippines, Timor and Iraq.

Even though this is not the first time I heard Fathiaa's story, I always get inspired and motivated to become a stronger leader in my field. Like me, Fathiaa has been inspired by many people to whom she is very grateful. People who have seen her potential and offered her both pieces of advice and opportunities. Her mission and passion are to shape and contribute to global development, particularly for the most vulnerable people. She advocates for female education, diversity and inclusion. 

Have you chosen your career path, or has it chosen you?

Fathiaa: It is a bit of both. You always got interested in something, but it will not happen without you finding and fighting for it, and also without people willing to give you that opportunity. My family gave me the opportunity for education, and they allowed me to travel and go to other places. You know, the girls who are generally from our background, they just don't go like that. However, my family or the community I am from are known for their support for female education for decades, and this has been my inspiration. I must say I'm also grateful for my husband, who supports me and understand my work because he has also done similar work. So that is also important because that's what gives you the courage and to beat challenges.

Fathiaa also talks about the importance of having people who trust you and who give you opportunities. But she also emphasised that in order to know what you are passionate about, you need to challenge yourself and take opportunities that come to your way:

Fathiaa: While I was searching for what I exactly wanted to do, then I come across other opportunities, and then my goal seems to become clearer for me. Opportunities didn't come just like that. I had to look for them, I had to study, I had to work, I had to connect, and I had to prove myself. And then once you've done that, then people will be willing to take you and will be willing to have the confidence in you.

Being curious and having courage has helped Fathiaa to reach her goals and to become a great leader. She has worked in several countries that, in the time she was working there, had ongoing conflict and war. When asked what inspired her to work in such challenging contexts, Fathiaa said: You have to have some kind of curiosity and some bravery. Because to be sent to a war zone is not the easiest decision you will take lightly. But then you feel there is a cause which will make you move, without fear, of course, you have to be cautious, careful and protect yourself because it can easily go into different directions. But at the same time, you feel that those people need your support, and you can make a difference for them and with them. And that is what really makes you go on and on and on. We are also a team of colleagues who want to achieve the same goal, finding solutions for people who lost their houses because of floods or because of war. And when you see that people stand on their feet again, it is rewarding. As a leader, I might sometimes be behind the scene, but you are shaping the vision and mission and letting your team deliver. 

The World Ranking of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) each year ranks the number of women in national politics. Results in October 2020 show that only 14 of the 193 United Nations (UN) members have a woman in the highest position of executive power, which is less than 10% of the men in power. We have still a way to go. As a woman myself, when I see more women in leadership positions, I get encouraged. What needs to be done? 

Fathiaa: there has been some progress,  the glass is half full, but it's still more to be done. To the leadership position in the UN, at the highest level, this is now being a priority for each agency. Even for me in my office, that is a priority. For example, you will find many women in middle-level leadership positions and very few are in senior positions. What needs to be done from our side is, we need to work harder to give the flag to other women and give them a meaningful space. We need to mentor and coach them, tell our story to the next generation. I think telling the story is a great foundation. Young girls in school need role models, and they need to know, the way is paved for them. I think female education is the way. It is the key; without that, it cannot happen. I'm not saying everyone has to go to university in order to become a leader. We can be leaders in many ways, but young girls, they have to go to school. So, what I am saying is for the leaders to make sure that women are part of the social, economic and political participation, and  the global issues. Without women being fully participating, our decisions will miss out the contribution half of the world and undermine the successful achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. 

What is your leadership quality? 

Fathiaa: First, being authentic. My leadership quality is being me. I don’t pretend to be a man, so being authentic is a good leadership quality. Because people know where you’re coming from. Second is having a clear goal and a vision because you’re not alone, you have people behind you who need to do things. Therefore, the goal and vision need to be then communicated very well.

The third is having courage. You don’t shy away from your responsibility as a leader. And if you have to take the decision, you have to take that. So, it's not like you have to be liked and loved by everyone. It would help if you went back to your goal and the vision and communicated it well so that the team owns it and deliver results

What is the hardest leadership lesson or challenge that you encountered, and how have you overcome those hardships?

Fathiaa: There's so many, but in general, as a woman, and as a black woman, and being the head of an organisation in a country, it can be hard sometimes. Particularly when you are working in a new country, where the people in that office do not know you, you have to be aware of yourself, your weakness and strengths, learn the culture and also be open-minded and not defensive. Because people in the new office country do not know you, give them time to get to know you—your confidence matters, your firmness matters above all you are there wholeheartedly for change. What most people want is fairness, equality and inclusiveness, then the people will see who you are. And sometimes you need to take the hard conversation if people are unfair to you because of how you dress or your accent or the colour of your skin, but you do it in an open-minded way, meaning put yourself into the other person's shoes. It is important to address those issues right away, and sometimes people are not aware of why they act and say certain things, and we make to have that conversation. 

When asked Fathiaa what is so interesting in her work, she said:

Fathiaa: my work took me to many countries, and I met different cultures and got to appreciate people from different backgrounds and  appreciate diversity  which has enriched my experiences and shaped my leadership role.

We come to an end; do you have a piece of leadership advice that you've been given by someone that you can share with us?

Fathiaa:  a woman leader in my organisation told me once, “I know, you can do this”, and gave me the opportunity and environment to deliver on  it. I think we should never refuse a challenge to break the glass ceiling. And if somebody and a leader have confidence in us, we should take that challenge and run with it. And yes, we can do it. So, I think believing in ourselves is very, very important. This happened to me because I was supported by women leading my organisation or in the UN in general and my supervisor, and to be honest because they told me, you can do it. Go for it. And I had that support, and I believed in it. And I know it is proven for everyone. Fathiaa ended her words with a quote from Michelle Obama “as women, we must stand up for ourselves, for each other, for justice for all.  Let us all do a better job of putting ourselves higher on our own to do list”.

Fathiaa Abdalla was interviewed in her personal capacity and as a role model for many women. The views are her personal and not of the organisation. 

You can also read an interview with Fathiaa in the article: "Leadership in the United Nations Framing What's Blue" in Dag Hammarskjöld foundation publication.

https://www.daghammarskjold.se/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/un_leadership_2020.pdf

Twitter: @fathiaabdalla

Fatumo Osman, co-founder of Noora Wellbeing