30 Year Anniversary of Women for Women International

Published on Feb 22, 2023

Celebrating our 30th Anniversary

The power of women, for women

Women for Women International was founded in 1993, when Zainab Salbi and Amjad Atallah launched their mission to support women who endured violence and rape during the Bosnian War.

Since then, we have expanded our reach to 17 conflict-affected countries, helping some of the world's most marginalised women uncover their true power and potential.

You would think that the world would have changed and would have understood that wars don’t work. And that the raping of women in war or at any time must stop and it’s a war crime.

Zainab Salbi, Co-Founder of Women for Women International

See how far we've come since 1993

30 years of Women for Women International

In honour of our 30th anniversary, our co-founder, Zainab Salbi, returned to the place where she transformed a moment of outrage into a movement that now spans 17 countries. Watch this video to learn how and why Women for Women International was founded.

Watch this video

Test your knowledge

Take our quiz to learn about how women are affected by war and conflict

Despite the daunting challenges they face, the women survivors of war we serve rise up and take control of their lives.

Take our 7-question quiz to learn about the obstacles they have to overcome and why it’s so important to invest in the power of women.

Take the quiz

Our impact over 30 years

Together, we can change the world

Over the last thirty years, we have witnessed the incredible power of women every day. In the face of inequality and conflict, the women survivors of war we serve rise up and transform not only their own lives but their whole communities.

Watch this video to find out how we have grown from one woman who started this organisation to over half a million women survivors of war and conflict.

Watch this video

When [we] started Women for Women International, we couldn’t have predicted just how many women would be affected by conflict 30 years later. We thought that Bosnia would be the last time.

Amjad Atallah, Co-Founder of Women for Women International

Women for Women International CEO Laurie Adams, Director of Žene za Žene International Seida Sarić and co-founder of Women for Women International Zainab Salbi. Photo credit: Mirsad Bukvic

The Sisterhood Effect: 30 Years On

Listen to our podcast

Three decades ago, one woman turned a moment of outrage into a movement. Today, the organisation Zainab Salbi started during the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina has reached over half a million women survivors of war all over the world. In this special episode, Women for Women International's CEO, Laurie Adams travels back to Bosnia with Zainab to learn the story of how it all began and to find out why, 30 years later, the sisterhood effect is needed more than ever.

Listen to the podcast

Through Dada’s Eyes

Our First VR Film

Immerse yourself in the world of one of our programme participants with our first 360°virtual reality film, Through Dada’s Eyes.

Experience a day in the life of Dada, a mother-of-two in Nigeria, as she participates in our Stronger Women, Stronger Nations programme after her life was upended by the Boko Haram insurgency.

Meet Dada

Meet the women we serve

Fazila

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In July 1995, men and boys were massacred in Srebrenica during the genocide in Bosnia. Fazila lost male relatives but knew she had to rebuild her life for the sake of her daughter and the women in her community.

Christine

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Christine knows what survival means. She was pregnant with her first child during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Faced with economic challenges after the death of her husband, she needed more than survival, she needed a future for her family.

Nastasiya

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"My name is not Nastasiya. It is too dangerous to tell you my real name." After fleeing the war in Ukraine, 'Nastasiya' says, "We have lost our home, our city and many of our neighbours, but we will not lose our spirit."