Jensila Mohammed Majeed; A Courageous woman!!!

Did you hear about Mohammed Jensila Majeed? If you are a srilankan you might have heard about her but chances for others to recognize her might be a tough task to accomplish.

She is the founder and head of CommunityTrust Fund(CTF) which she started in the year 1993 along with four other muslim women in puttalam area.

O.k. what is the special about her? She is a special woman as she was one of the ten women who were selected by US state department’s annual award for courageous women.

Born to a muslim family in the year 1970 she is from a tiny village Thannerootru of Mullaitivu district which is located in the northern part of the island. She became an IDP(Internally Displaced People) after tigers evicted the entire muslim community from northern province in suspicion of a impending mutiny after assault rifles were found in few muslim houses. It was one of the blunders of tigers in their struggle for freedom. It put an permanent divide among two minority religions.

Being a muslim woman who has been under tremendous pressure in the battle fields and who was driven out by the Tamil Rebels in 1990 from northern Mullaittivu to Puttalam, this lady had the courage to take up the challenge and serve the community under many difficulties with her husband and with her three children, her struggle began way back in 1991.

Ms. Majeed has become an energetic activist of services that are essential for displaced Muslim and Tamil civilians, focusing particularly on grassroots programs on life skills, health, and women's empowerment. Her activism began in 1993 with a working group of five people. She overcame both the general neglect of the problem of IDPs in the Muslim minority as well as her own community’s parameters for women activists to build a broad-based organization that effectively works on minority and women’s issues in a highly sensitive and politicized environment.

The annual International Women of Courage Award was started in March 2007 to recognize women around the globe who have shown exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for women's rights and advancement. This is the only award within the Department of State that pays tribute to outstanding women leaders worldwide. It recognizes the courage and leadership shown as they struggle for social justice and human rights.

She is the ideal woman the tamil poet Bharathi dreamt about.