For years, the phrase "Always Ready for a Challenge," which is the title of a song, has been adopted by self-proclaimed "feminists" as a slogan. They use it to promote female figures they wish to present as societal icons, aiming to distort our Arab and Islamic identity.
This happens despite the contradictions in what these figures promote—often rejecting our values and beliefs, and advocating ideas that increase societal polarization and waste the community’s energy on futile battles, or at best, battles that are not a priority compared to the fundamental struggles of the ummah on its path to revival.
Today, however, we raise this slogan for a woman who truly deserves recognition and can serve as a role model for our daughters.
The woman I am referring to is an Arab Jordanian lady. If it were up to me, I would make her life story and stances part of the school curriculum for our sons and daughters, so they can learn about real role models, away from those imposed upon them for dubious purposes.
I am talking about Dr. Rima Khalaf. After graduating from the American University of Beirut and obtaining higher studies in economics from Western universities, she returned to her homeland, Jordan, where she held several ministerial positions before embarking on a journey in various roles within United Nations organizations.
Among the positions she held were Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Regional Director of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) from 2000 to 2006. While in this role, she launched projects to promote good governance, human rights, and human development in Arab countries.
During this period, she played a prominent role in publishing a periodic report on human development in the Arab world, which garnered significant attention and appreciation in Arab intellectual circles.
In 2005, the Arab League honored her at its headquarters in Cairo. On the sidelines of that visit, the Egyptian Doctors Syndicate hosted her at the "House of Wisdom" (Dar Al-Hekma), where she was celebrated as an Arab pioneer who held prestigious international positions.
I still remember her speech in which she confidently predicted the inevitable downfall of oppressive regimes and the inevitability of peoples enjoying their full rights and freedoms, citing the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of apartheid in South Africa as examples.
Later, I lost track of Khalaf’s activities due to my own negligence until one day in 2017, when I woke up to the news of her resignation from her position as Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) following the withdrawal of an international report accusing "Israel" of oppressing the Palestinian people.
After completing her report, which concluded that the "Israeli" occupation regime is an apartheid system and that the only solution to the Palestinian cause lies in dismantling this racist system, she recommended reinstating the anti-apartheid committees within the United Nations to take on this mission, just as was done with apartheid in South Africa.
The withdrawal of Khalaf’s report was not surprising to her, as she noted in her resignation letter to the UN Secretary-General. She was well aware of the direct and indirect influence that "Israel" enjoys through the U.S. Thus, she decided to resign, knowing from her extensive experience that maintaining her authority and holding high positions within the UN would only be possible with the approval of the Zionist-American axis. Yet she chose to stand by the truth.
I write these words today with the resources available to me to ensure that this lady’s stance is not forgotten, and that her example remains visible amid the spotlight given to actresses and socialites who are replicas of values and stances foreign to our ummah, presented as role models.
Rima Khalaf should not only serve as an example and role model for our daughters but for everyone—men and women—who truly belongs to this ummah.
Khalaf set an example for us all when she boldly spoke the truth, proving that it is possible to stand for what is right at any time and place, provided one listens to and obeys their conscience.
At the same time, Khalaf exposed the false slogans of feminism, which seek to undermine everything beautiful in our heritage and drive women away from the path Allah created for them—a path through which they can contribute significantly to their religion, their nation, and their homeland.
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