Living in the diaspora can be difficult, but organisations such as Effendi Foundation aim to bridge that gap. Wan Rashid founded Effendi Foundation last year for that exact reason.
Wan Rashid: I wanted to create Effendi Foundation so I can hound in on creating that connection between the diaspora and Kurdistan
Wan Rashid - Effendi Foundation Source: Supplied
It wasn’t long after when Yara Ismael joined, Yara shares a passion for humanitarian activities and Kurdistan as well, working on non-profits since she was 15 years old.
The two immediately hit it off, and their most recent initiative was evidence of that.
Yara Ismael - Effendi Foundation Source: Supplied
Yara: "We really didn’t expect for it to grow to this stage... it just became this international thing, and we didn’t expect such positive feedback”
Effendi organised a Women's Webinar, creating an open dialogue amongst the diaspora community regarding women's rights. With conversation ranging from mental health, relationships, family and expectations of a female.
This included six different Kurdish female guests from six very different backgrounds, coming together and bridging that gap between Kurdistan and the diaspora. When asked what it had meant to organise a feminist webinar, Wan said "when we talk about feminism, it's the equality we wish to see, but feminism can mean different things in different countries, and we don't want to exclude anyone".
Wan: "We want to make sure we're being inclusive"
So, what's next on the horizon? Effendi plans to talk about an array of key matters, including continuing discourse on feminism, racism, internal societal judgements and other international issues.
Yara: We're trying to approach it thematically... there is a vision in mind, we’re talking about what our community needs now and being flexible in order to respond to our communities changing needs"
