Nobel Women's Initiative - Home
Join Us Donate
  • Home
  • Who We Are

    Since 2006 we have worked in solidarity with women's movements, organizations, and activists around the world to build peace, defend justice, and champion equality for all.
    • The Laureates

      • Rigoberta Menchú Tum
      • Jody Williams
      • Shirin Ebadi
      • Leymah Gbowee
      • Tawakkol Karman
      • Maria Ressa
      • Narges Mohammadi
      • Oleksandra Matviichuk
    • The Board

      • Profiles
    • Supporters

      • Individual and institutional donors
    • Staff

      • Profiles
  • What We Do

    Nobel Women's Initiative delivers programs, events, training, mentorship, advocacy and campaigns.
    • Areas of Work

      • Influencing Change
      • Shifting the Narrative
      • Leading Peace Together
    • News & Information

      • Press releases and Statements
      • Annual & Thematic Reports
      • Blog
  • Our Approach

    This is why and how we work to increase the visibility of women striving for peace, justice and equality.
    • About Us

      • Vision, Mission, Feminist Principles
      • Highlights of our Work
      • History & Background
    • What's Our Approach?

      • Transition and Renewal
      • Strategic Directions 2023-2027
  • Get Involved

    Subscribe to our newsletter to receive updates on opportunities to join us in our work.
      • Donate
    • Work With Us

      • Jobs
Join Us Donate
  1. Shifting the Narrative
  2. 16 Days of Activism
  3. Meet Alaa Basatneh, Syria

Meet Alaa Basatneh, Syria

“I was not big on social media at the beginning of the Syrian revolution. I had 60 friends on Facebook and almost all of them were from Chicago. I didn’t even know how to use Twitter. When I look back at it now I realize I didn’t have a plan for how I could contribute. I just knew I had to do something. I looked around the room and saw my laptop and thought, ‘Okay, let’s try that’.”

 

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
Meet Alaa Basatneh, Syria

Alaa is a courageous young Syrian activist using social media to connect activists on the ground in Syria with each other, and the international community—all from her laptop in Chicago, USA.

Born in Damascus, Syria, Alaa came to the United States with her family when she was six months old. On March 15, 2011 Alaa’s life as a 19-year old changed forever. She returned home from school to see the TV reporting the news that the oppressive Syrian regime had imprisoned, tortured and killed students from a school just outside of Damascus, in Daraa. The students had revolted against the regime by writing “Down with the regime” on the school wall. Syrians took to the streets in Daraa in a “Day of Rage” and the regime responded with deadly force. Alaa, shocked that this kind of horror could happen to students her age, was catapulted in to action. She took to her laptop—the only tool she had available—and her life as an activist began.

Alaa began using social media to connect activists on the ground in Syria with each other. She helped to coordinate protests, identify safe escape routes and collect video footage and photos of protests. Alaa became a medium between activists in Syria and the international media, organizing interviews and reporting up-to-date news from the ground. The incredible impact of her efforts has been chronicled in the award-winning documentary, #ChicagoGirl: The Social Network Takes on a Dictator.

Alaa’s work to support the Syrian revolution and bring international attention to the deadly actions of the Syrian regime has not come without a cost. She has received numerous threats online from the Syrian intelligence office, and threats on the ground from extremist groups. As a result, Alaa is no longer able to return to Syria for risk of her safety.

Despite these threats Alaa remains determined to support activists and civil society on the ground in Syria. She continues to use social media to raise awareness about the situation of those remaining in Syria during the ongoing war—particularly the situation of children. Alaa is certain that the future of Syria must be built by the next generation, and she plans to do everything in her power to ensure they have the support they need.

LEARN MORE

Watch the trailer for #ChicagoGirl: The Social Network Takes on a Dictator

Follow Alaa on Twitter

 

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email

16 Days of Activism

November 25, 2022

Afrah Nassar: "Believe that you are worth listening to."

November 25, 2022

Jamila Afghani: “We should extend hands of support to each other."

November 25, 2022

Mèaza Gidey Gebremedhin: “I always need to fight for myself, for my place in this world, and to help others.”

November 25, 2022

A Q&A with democracy activist Khin Ohmar: "I feel at peace knowing there is a young generation fighting for their rights."

November 25, 2022

Amira Osman Hamed: "Don't let them terrify you."

November 25, 2022

Lubna Alkanawati: "What's really helped me to survive is the women's network around me."

November 25, 2022

Nina Potarska, Anna Chernova and Oksana Senyk: "Family peace is a small piece of peacebuilding."

November 25, 2022

Nadia Murad: "We don't get anywhere by pacifying with politeness."

December 10, 2021

Manal Shqair: I’m always fighting every day for my existence as a woman (Palestine)

December 9, 2021

Ounaysa Arabi: Knowledge is power and we have a good inheritance from feminists around the world (Sudan)

December 9, 2021

Ilaf Nasreldin: We as women deserve to live a better life (Sudan)

December 8, 2021

Musu Diamond Kamara: When one woman is affronted, all of us are affronted (Liberia)

More — 16 Days of Activism

Nobel Women's Initiative

Contact Information

General Inquiries
Email:
261 Montreal Rd, Suite 310
Ottawa, ON K1L 8C7
Media Inquiries
Daina Ruduša
Email:

Join Us

  • Join us
  • Donate
  • Event Registration Fee

Social media

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Subscribe


© 2025 Nobel Women's Initiative

Sign in to control panel Created with NationBuilder Built by Progressive Nation
Loading…