Siba Sharaf awarded the 1325 Scholarship in memory of Zaida Catalán

Growing up surrounded by powerful women and supportive men, Siba learned early that her voice and ambitions mattered. Her mother devoted her life to helping people and making fearless political statements. Her father, a lawyer, took her to court from a young age, introducing her as “the next great lawyer”.

– My instinct was never to tolerate injustice, which gradually became a conscious decision to pursue law and human rights, she says.

Yet it was only when applying for the scholarship that she recognised how closely her experiences connected to the women, peace and security agenda. She had always believed in advocating for rights together, rather than through separate agendas. Reflecting on the systems she had lived in and witnessed helped her understand why advocacy sometimes needs to address gender specifically.

– I started seeing that I had been supporting this agenda throughout my life: from rallying the girls around me to rebel against a teacher who would not let us play “boys’ games”, to speaking into a microphone about the stories of women in Gaza in the streets of Nice, France.

The confidence and space to participate

As she grew older, Siba realised that not every woman was given the same confidence, space or respect that she had experienced at home. She saw women with great potential stepping away from public and political life.

– They believed it to be a personal choice, when it can often reflect adaptation to a system that excludes them and undermines their confidence to participate.

In Palestine, she explains, recurring crises and emergencies make it easier to push vulnerable groups aside. She sees this exclusion as compounded by the Israeli occupation, which threatens women’s existence and security.

– This realisation made me feel that I could not remain outside this agenda. Through my work, I was also able to help some girls and women break their cycle of insecurity and injustice, and I do not think anything I have done in my life has given me the same unique sense of pride as these stories have.

Choosing hope in difficult times

Receiving the scholarship brought recognition of work that has sometimes been difficult to sustain.

– It made me feel that what I had been pouring myself into for so long – speaking up for others and supporting them in claiming their rights and freedoms – was not a waste.

– In my community, I have witnessed a growing loss of faith in human rights, especially after the genocidal war on Gaza and the increasingly unliveable conditions in the West Bank.

Comments such as “Human rights are empty talk, go do commercial law”, “Don’t be emotional” and “The law does not serve people like us” have made her question whether her hopes and ambitions were unrealistic or misplaced.

Being recognised by, and joining, an environment committed to turning justice and humanity into meaningful change has helped ease those doubts.

– It reminded me that hope is not a naïve feeling reserved for easy times; it is a decision we make, again and again, every day, to hold on to these principles even when everything around us seems to disprove them.

Turning research and advocacy into change

Through the scholarship, Siba will be hosted by MIFTAH – the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy. Based in Ramallah, the organisation works to safeguard citizens’ rights and strengthen the rule of law, with a particular focus on women and youth.

Having previously engaged with MIFTAH as a student, she sees the placement as an opportunity to return to an organisation that helped shape her understanding of civil society work.

– It was honestly one of the first places where I sensed professionalism, a clear and honest vision, and a genuine attempt to create change. I remember how much I was missing that in my community.

Her interests span research, documentation and advocacy. At MIFTAH, she wants to explore how these approaches work together and translate into real impact.

– The fact that MIFTAH brings all these aspects together makes me genuinely thirsty to learn from its work. Through MIFTAH, I hope to learn, contribute, and build meaningful connections that will help me advance the women, peace and security agenda.

Supporting participation beyond public life

Looking ahead, Siba wants to help women and girls turn painful experiences into action, using social, political and legal tools to improve their realities.

– Our Palestinian reality fills girls and women with fear, anger, and inner complexity that consume us from within, leaving us with a deep sense of helplessness. I truly want us to learn how to invest these emotions and painful experiences, using the right social, political and legal tools, to change and improve our realities.

She hopes to create a space where women and girls can build bonds and discuss their rights, freedoms, roles and experiences, sharing what they want and need.

But, she stresses, this work cannot happen in isolation from the wider community. Supporting women’s public participation also means addressing the conditions in their personal lives: protection and security at home, financial stability, and access to social, psychological and legal care.

– I want to be part of building a community system that recognises women as a power group and values their essential roles in families, schools, and workplaces.

For Siba, addressing the occupation is inseparable from this ambition.

– Most importantly, we cannot improve this reality under an external occupying power that threatens women’s existence and well-being in even more compounded ways that we must understand and address.

Learning resilience from the women around her

What keeps her going is a deep sense of responsibility towards those whose voices she can help amplify. At times, she also feels guilt about having opportunities and influence that others do not.

– I am in a position where I have some power to immerse myself in their experiences, get angry on their behalf, and amplify their voices, while many others don’t have the same privilege.

Stepping away would feel like failing them while their struggles continue. She also draws strength from the women who have taught her resilience through their everyday lives: her mother, sisters, teachers, friends, colleagues, aunties and grandmothers.

– I am driven by the extraordinary women who taught me resilience simply by living it, including the women of my family in Gaza, who teach me every day the skill of making life out of unbearable conditions.

About the 1325 Scholarship

Established by FBA on behalf of the Swedish government in 2020, the scholarship supports young peacebuilders working to advance women’s participation in conflict resolution. It offers a year of practical experience with a civil society organisation, alongside capacity-building activities organised by FBA.

The scholarship honours Zaida Catalán, who served as a gender expert in several international peace operations to which she was seconded by FBA.

Read more about the 1325 Scholarship