ISHRAGA MUSTAFA HAMID
Creative artist. Feminist. Activist.
Ishraga Mustafa Hamid is a writer, political scientist, translator and publicist. She studied both in the Sudanese capital Khartoum and in Austria and did her doctorate at the Institute of Political Science at the University of Vienna on liberation processes of African women in Vienna. In her younger years, Ishraga Mustafa Hamid was involved in the Sudanese women's movement and worked as a journalist before she had to leave the country as an opposition member after the military coup in 1989 and moved to Austria. She stands up for people with a migration background, founded the first Black Women's Community in Vienna and is a representative for Arabic literature in the Austrian PEN Club. As a writer, Hamid’s has published over ten books, in multiple languages, and has also translated multiple books into Arabic and German. She was awarded the Golden Decoration of Merit of the State of Vienna for her commitment.
Ishraga Mustafa / © Linda Zahra
“I don’t believe in profit and loss. With every gain I have lost something and with every loss I have also gained something.”
Ishraga Mustafa Hamid / @ Michael Jeuter
THE MENDY PROJECT
Almost all my cultural activities are related to gender equality and social justice. Recently, I established an organization called Mendy for Peace Culture and Diversity Management to serve as a main platform for these activities.
Who was Mendy?
Mendy is a princess from the Nuba Mountains in Sudan, who struggled against colonialism with her father Sultan Ajbana. Unfortunately, the documented history did not mention this pioneering role that Mendy played in the struggle against colonialism. Mendy as a woman from the Nuba Mountains, which inhabited mostly by non-Muslim African peoples, she was marginalized by post-colonial governments that were dominated by Arab-Islamic culture. So, the name Mendy was chosen as a symbol for every forgotten invisible woman, marginalized and ignored by official history records.
What is the Mendy Project?
During the past two years, Mendy has carried out many activities. One of the most important of these activities is the creative writing workshops for immigrant women to write their own stories of migration, starting with their memories in their countries of origin, how and why they had to leave their country and the challenges they faced in their migration journey and their new lives in the countries in which they settled.
As coordinator of these workshops, I raised the motto: No one can write our autobiography like we do. As immigrants, we are most able to write our own stories. They are more than just creative writing workshops, biography and writing in general, as they help in the healing and wellness of the soul. The participants in the four workshops were from different countries in the diaspora and from different countries of origin. This enabled me to achieve one of my goals and my passion for communication, exchanging experiences and building networks. These workshops resulted in four books published in Arabic by different publishers and some of stories has been published in German und presented in Muenster University-organized by the German organization, which finalized the scholarships for Mendy Projects of creative writings in Sudan.
© loecker-verlag.at
Nicht Mehr Mit Uns
Sudanesische Frauen gegen Gewalt
Hrsg. Ishraga Mustafa Hamid
ISBN: 978-3-99098-069-9
174 pages
Löcker Verlag, Vienna
“Almost all my cultural activities are related to gender equality and social justice.”
