Enterprising Iraqi mother among Time’s 100 most influential people

Four years ago Madeeha Hasan Odhaib was a struggling mother of two and a seamstress with three sewing machines. Today, she is a district council member and a proud business owner who employs 100 women, writes Queen Rania of Jordan for Time Magazine as she celebrates Odhaib’s accomplishments in the publication’s fifth annual listing of the world’s 100 most influential people.

Odhaib was eventually able to leverage her original sewing machines into 60 machines and has built a full-fledged company that handles orders from flags to hospital sheets. Now empowering 100 women and providing them with much-needed income, Odhaib has accomplished an extraordinary feat in a country plagued by unrelenting violence and a 60 percent unemployment rate.

Odhaib has used her success and local prominence to give back to her community. She coordinates food distribution efforts with the Red Crescent, Red Cross, and other organizations working in Iraq.

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