46 Facts About Alaa Murabit

Alaa Murabit created the Voice of Libyan Women at age 21 and played a key role in advancing multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions and the Sustainable Development Goals into global policy frameworks.

Alaa Murabit was the inaugural Director of Global Health Advocacy, Policy, and Communications at the Gates Foundation, where she led major global health and development initiatives.

Alaa Murabit is credited for mobilizing billions of dollars for global health and development initiatives, driving numerous global policies for equitable access and systemic change through high-level leadership roles.

Alaa Murabit co-created the Emerging Leaders Lab and Chairs Girls Not Brides.

Alaa Murabit was awarded the Canadian Meritorious Service Cross and named to the TIME100.

Alaa Murabit is a James Joyce Award recipient, a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, a BBC Top 100 honoree, a two-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee, and a Forbes 30 Under 30 leader.

Alaa Murabit's leadership has been acknowledged by The Lancet, the World Economic Forum, CNN, the Canadian government, and Harvard Law.

Alaa Murabit was born and raised in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, as the sixth of eleven children.

Alaa Murabit's parents played a key role in shaping her perspective on leadership and gender equality.

Alaa Murabit has stated that she initially had no plans to advocate for inclusive security or women's rights.

Alaa Murabit studied at the College of Medicine at Al Zawiya University in Libya from 2006 to 2013 and worked at Zawiya Teaching Hospital and various makeshift clinics during the 2011 Libyan War.

Alaa Murabit received her Doctor of Medicine from Zawia University in 2013 and her master's in International Strategy and Diplomacy with distinction from the London School of Economics in 2016 with research focused on inclusive security, crisis response, and securitization.

In 2020, Alaa Murabit was named a Radcliffe Fellow at Harvard University's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, where she focused on inclusive peacebuilding, community-led response, and global security frameworks.

In 2011, while in medical school and during the Libyan Revolution, Alaa Murabit founded the Voice of Libyan Women, an organization focused on inclusive security during and after the Libyan Civil War.

VLW's Noor Campaign was the focus of Alaa Murabit's 2015 TED talk.

Alaa Murabit has worked closely on inclusive security, peace processes, and faith-supported peacebuilding alongside President Jimmy Carter, Leymah Gbowee, and others.

In 2013, Alaa Murabit spoke at the Women in the World Summit: "During the revolution, I saw phenomenally brave women taking a leading role," Alaa Murabit told Lesley Stahl.

Alaa Murabit was an Advisor to UN Women Global Civil Society Advisory Group in 2014, and is a founding coalition member of Harvard University's "Everywoman, Everywhere" initiative.

In July 2014, Alaa Murabit was appointed to the United Nations 1325 Advisory Board, which monitors the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace, and security.

In October 2015, Alaa Murabit was selected as the Speaker for the 15th Anniversary Open Debate of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325.

In 2016, Alaa Murabit was appointed as a United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Advocate by Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, following years of advocacy for the Goals, and appointed again by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Alaa Murabit has advised the UN Security Council on the Women, Peace, and Security agenda, humanitarian crisis, and health security.

Alaa Murabit has worked extensively on integrating SDGs into global policy frameworks, successfully negotiating, passing, and supporting numerous resolutions through the United Nations Security Council and General Assembly, including Resolutions 2122,2242,2467, and 2493.

In May 2015, Alaa Murabit addressed an official TED audience, released in July 2015 as an official "Ted Talk of the Day".

Alaa Murabit was an International Deliver for Good Influencer and a board member of International Alert, Keeping Children Safe, Malaria No More, and the Malala Fund.

From 2016 to 2019, Alaa Murabit served as the Executive Director of Phase Minus 1, a global initiative focused on preventing conflict escalation by addressing systemic root causes.

Alaa Murabit collaborated with policymakers, security experts, and grassroots leaders to develop governance, resilience, and crisis response strategies in fragile and conflict settings.

In 2017, Alaa Murabit was a founding member of The NewNow, a coalition of rising global leaders established to tackle contemporary global challenges modeled after The Elders.

Alaa Murabit created the Emerging Leaders Lab, a mentorship and leadership initiative supporting women community peacebuilders and social entrepreneurs, collaborating with organizations including Google, TED, Nike, ID-PR, and supporting leaders including Fawiza Farhan, Adwoa Aboah, Jaha Dukureh, and Roya Mahboob.

From 2019 to 2021, Alaa Murabit served as the CEO of IMPACT 2030, leveraging private sector engagement for social impact and hosted "At The Table" podcast, interviewing global changemakers such as Malala Yousafzai, Layla Saad, Eddie Ndopu, Najwa Zebian, and Dr Rana el Kaliouby.

Alaa Murabit led global advocacy and research for women's health, launching the $300 million Beginnings Fund for maternal and child health.

In 2020, Alaa Murabit became a board member for Women for Women International, and in 2021 became an alternate board member for GAVI.

In 2022, Alaa Murabit was selected as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, one of Canada's Women of Impact.

In 2024, Alaa Murabit was named to the TIME 100 most influential people and as a Lancet global leader.

In October 2024, Alaa Murabit was announced as the new Chairperson of the Board of Girls Not Brides, leading the global partnership to end child marriage and was named a Commissioner for the Commission on Faith, Trust and Health.

Alaa Murabit provides policy and strategic guidance on sustainable development, crisis response, security, health, innovation, education, and equity.

Alaa Murabit has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, TIME, BBC, CNN, The Financial Times, The Lancet, and Vanity Fair and has spoken at leading international conferences including TED, World Economic Forum, WIRED, Munich Security Conference and ilton Foundation Symposium.

Alaa Murabit has written articles for The Boston Globe, Wired, Project Syndicate, WEF, the Carter Center, NewAmerica, Chime for Change, Huffington Post, The Christian Science Monitor and Impakter.

Alaa Murabit is a contributing writer for the bestselling feminist anthology Feminists Don't Wear Pink.

In 2025, Alaa Murabit launched an online newsletter titled Radical Resilience.

Alaa Murabit is widely recognized for her contributions to global security, sustainability, health, development, and gender equality.

Alaa Murabit is the first civilian from Saskatchewan to receive the Canadian Meritorious Service Cross for her work in international peace and development and was honored as a Vanity Fair Global Goals Leader.

Alaa Murabit was named a BBC Top 100 Woman, received the TED Talk of the Day distinction, the Nelson Mandela Changemaker Award, the Marisa Bellisario International Humanitarian Award by the President of the Italian Republic and WIRED World Global Thought leader.

Alaa Murabit's sustained global impact has been recognized with the James Joyce Award, as one of Canada's nine Trailblazers and one of Canada's 100 most impactful women in Canadian history, both awarded by the Government of Canada.

Alaa Murabit was inducted into the Institute for Inclusive Security Women Waging Peace in 2012, an Ashoka Fellow in 2014, and an MIT Media Lab Fellow in 2016.

Alaa Murabit has addressed the United Nations Security Council and General Assembly, European Council, African Union, COP, and other global fora numerous times.