Aisha
Al-Adawiya

Sister Aisha Al- Adawiya has been at the forefront in the fight for human rights, social justice, and gender equality for over 40 years. As an organizational strategist, consultant, and curator of the historiographies of Muslims in America, Sister Aisha’s work is recognized nationally and internationally for its global impact. In 1992, she founded Women in Islam, Inc., an organization of Muslim women which focuses on human rights and social justice by strengthening the role and voice of women in Islam, through which she spearheaded a national campaign to create mosque access for Muslim women.

A recent retiree from the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture where she served for over 35 years, Sister Aisha continues to organize and participate in conferences, symposia and other forums on Islam which address issues of Gender Equity, Conflict Resolution, Cross-Cultural Understanding, and Peace Building.

Sister Aisha is the recipient of numerous awards, most recently the 2017 Clara Lemlich Award for social activism from LaborArts and the Council on American Islamic Relation’s 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award, given in recognition of her decades of service and commitment to advancing the legacy of Islam as an organic religious tradition. In 2022, she received the Outstanding Humanitarian Award (presented to her by Turkish first lady Emine Erdogan) from the US Council for Muslim Organizations, a coalition of national, regional, and local Muslim organizations.