Women Of Courage, Substance, Inspiration
The Women of Courage forum brought together two women whose incredible experiences captivated the sizeable and diverse audience. View pictures of the forum held on May 18th, at the DBS Auditorium.

View photos of the Women of Courage Forum

The first speaker, Indonesian broadcast journalist, Meutyah Hafid, was held captive by Iraqi forces for 7 days and 6 nights while sending home news on the situation in Iraq. She described her kidnapping in detail, and screened a video which included footage recorded by her captors during her abduction. The audience was riveted, especially as Meutyah explained that she was treated fairly by her kidnappers during the ordeal. One audience member later remarked that she made the experience seem like a walk in the park and truly, she did relate the story with an incongruous calm.

Basma AlKhateeb, the second speaker for the night, told of how difficult it was for her to watch the video of Meutyah's kidnapping. As part of her work as UNIFEM's Iraqi Programme Co-ordinator, Basma had been training a group of women parliamentarians. Shortly before she came to Singapore, one of the parliamentarians, a close friend of Basma's, was killed. Still grieving, Basma recounted the fight of Iraqi people to attain any kind of normalcy amidst abnormal circumstances. Her insights told of how deeply politically-involved Iraqis are. Their resilience, she said, means they have no time to heal.

Audience members jumped at the chance to pick the speakers' brains during the question and answer session forming a queue at the two microphones placed on the floor.

The duo's eloquent and inspirational insights made for a powerhouse forum, which was greatly enjoyed by all.

- Sabina Fernandez