Ashwaq Moharram Explained

Ashwaq Moharram (ar|أشواق محرم; born)[1] is a Yemeni physician and activist, noted for her work dealing with starvation in the Yemeni city of Al Hudaydah.

Life

Moharram is married with 2 children. By late 2016, she lived alone in the Houthi-controlled city of Al Hudaydah, as she gave her husband the funds to take their children to Jordan.[2]

Moharram trained as a gynecologist.[3] She has done humanitarian work in Yemen since the early 2000s.

Moharram has said of her work: "I'm seeing the same thing I used to watch on TV when the famine unfolded in Somalia. I never thought I would see this in Yemen." Moharram has worked for numerous international aid organisations, but since 2015 has worked independently, delivering medicine and food in her car, serving as a mobile clinic.[4] [5] She has also organized the distribution of food and milk to children in need.[6]

Moharram has spoken to news media about the need for humanitarian aid in Yemen.[7]

Awards and recognition

In 2016, after working as a doctor for twenty years, she was named one of the BBC 100 Women for her achievements.

In 2021, she was a finalist for the 2021 Aurora Humanitarian prize.

Notes and References

  1. News: 21 November 2016 . BBC 100 Women 2016: Who is on the list? . 28 July 2019 . BBC News . en-GB.
  2. Web site: Trew . Bel . 2016-11-12 . Angel of the desert cares for Yemen’s starving children . 2024-11-08 . www.thetimes.com . en.
  3. Web site: Ashwaq Moharram: 2021 Aurora Humanitarian . 2024-11-08 . auroraprize.com . en.
  4. Web site: One woman's lonely struggle against famine in Yemen. BBC News. 22 September 2016. 8 December 2016.
  5. Web site: Ashwaq Muharram, il medico donna che salva (da sola) lo Yemen . Corriere Della Sera. 8 December 2016. Italian.
  6. Web site: 2018-11-16 . ‘We are on life support’: Doctor makes desperate plea from Yemeni city of Hodeidah as humanitarian crisis worsens . 2024-11-08 . The Independent . en.
  7. Web site: 2019-02-01 . Residents in besieged Yemeni city forced to eat rubbish . 2024-11-08 . The Independent . en.