When considering the number of women who face any type of violence or abuse on the daily, there seems to be a lack of resources in our region to really support those women. It’s something that no woman would feel comfortable enough to disclose, and so we’d never know what goes on behind closed doors.
It’s safe to say that a “women’s crisis advocacy” in Bahrain is a total breakthrough for not just our country, but our region as a whole.
On this week’s episode, we sat down with Mary-Justine Todd, Founder & Executive Director of Shamsaha, to discuss her initiative to support women in our region
Shamsaha’s mission is to advocate for women’s empowerment and protection throughout the Middle East. How it operates is basically with a team of dedicated volunteers and two helplines, one in English and one in Arabic.
These hotlines operate 24/7, with the primary goal being to support women in Bahrain, of any age or nationality, who may be facing any type of abuse – in the workplace, at home or anywhere else really.
Shamsaha’s operations are completely anonymous
The whole team at Shamsaha understands that sometimes, we feel more comfortable talking to a stranger about situations that we may otherwise be too ashamed or embarrassed to open up to our loved ones about.
Any advocate who answers the phone will not ask you for your name, CPR number or really any details you may be uncomfortable sharing.
Shamsaha even helps out with more extreme cases of emotional, financial or psychological abuse
Aside from the legal support that Shamsaha offer, a volunteer or an advocate will even accompany any woman who needs to go to the police station and will support her throughout that whole journey, even if she just needs someone present.
You can call or Whatsapp Shamsaha on the numbers below, at ANY time of the day:
English: 38447588
Arabic: 66710901
Listen to the full ‘Local X Local’ podcast below:
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