Young people are denied participation in decisions that affect their access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) information and services – especially in the case of young women.
We Lead is a five-year program that started in 2021 with the aim that young women rightsholders can claim their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).
Nour Nahhas is a 26-year-old Community of Action Facilitator for the We Lead Program in Lebanon. Nour has extensive experience in the non-governmental sector, in the field of gender, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and migration.
Moufeeda Haidar caught up with Nour to talk about We Lead and her work as a Community of Action Facilitator in Lebanon.
1. How did you get involved in We Lead?
Before being selected as the We Lead Community of Action Facilitator (COAF) for Lebanon, I was working at an emotionally taxing, difficult job and was completely burnt out.
I applied to become a CoAF because it matched my aspirations. I always wanted to work with groups of women on what matters most in their lives and provide them with the support they need to translate their personal experiences into concrete action that creates change.
Also, this job shift was an opportunity for me to heal from a difficult work environment and to engage in meaningful work with people who trust and believe in Youth Power as the answer to just and transformative change.
2. Can you tell us about your roles and responsibilities as a We Lead Community of Action Facilitator?
As the CoAf for Lebanon, my role is to be the link between the Community of Action (CoA) organizations, and the consortium partners; as well as, the unifying link among the CoA organizations.
I do so by leading the development of advocacy strategies and action plans, coordinating all the advocacy activities that are implemented by the Lebanon CoA organisations and providing technical support and guidance to strengthen their capacity to effectively advocate for their sexual health and rights.
3. What changes do you hope to see in your country with We Lead?
Lebanon has been enduring a compounded crisis since the end of 2019.
I hope to see a shift in the conversation on SRHR that tackles the economic and social hardships resulting from the crises and adapt interventions accordingly.
It is also important to support rightsholders to engage in discourses that hold policymakers and government actors accountable for their continuous inaction and complicity in the deteriorating SRHR environment and to push them into cooperation through assertive advocacy initiatives.
