Dr. Ameena Ali

POWERHOUSE GLOBAL MAGAZINE (PGMAG) INTERVIEW WITH:

Dr. Ameena Ali (DAA)

Pgmag: Dr. Ameena, great to have you on today’s interview with Lady Anita.

DAA: it is so wonderful to be here and to speak with you today. I can't tell you how happy I am to be featured in your magazine and to be a part of your community and tribe! I'm humbled.

Pgmag: Please briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

DAA: Well, I am Dr. Ameena Ali…I'm a US Army Golf War Veteran that just retired after 30 Years of Medicine. I retired to accept my role as Founder of the Federation of International Gender and Human Rights (FIGHR) and the offer to work with the UN (with the WHO and UN Women, especially) in the Mission of helping women gain access to the Maternal Care, its education and support and the Mental Health aftercare that is due all women. I have a large, “Intended Family”; spun from the term “Extended Family”, this is a welcoming that describes a family that you not only have as “blood” or those you birthed, but those you CHOSE to welcome as your “blood” and treat them no different. I have Five (5) Daughters… three (3) are “for” me and two (2) are “because of me” that I birthed; now, at last count, I have fourteen (14) Grandchildren and three more that are “Tribe Kids”… children that could be my grandchildren (by age) but not of the family directly.

Pgmag: As a woman in leadership position, what are some of the measures required to create opportunities for the young people?

DAA:

PERSISTENCE. This is far and apart the greatest thing you can give anyone and anything, when establishing a thing! There has to be a goal in mind that you look to for motivation but not to HOLD onto it too tightly, in its execution.

This is the mentorship-pendulum that swings from that at 2am phone call of desperation and need to that simple letter that is needed to refer them to the next step in life…and every angle and need in between. It’s like the “Intended Family”, you have to be in it for the long haul and not give up, even if they walk away!

Pgmag: What is your message for those struggling with low self-esteem?

DAA: There is no such thing; you cannot “suffer” from a social construct. I don’t believe in this term… I think it is society’s way to describe what THEY feel is happening within that woman…person…whomever. But I bet the person being judged as having “Low Self Esteem” would describe it differently. That (relative) level of outward presence that is JUDGED and devalued based on the experience and the bias of the person judging them, reflect the bigot, not those that lay in judgement. Women that don’t know how to express themselves yet, are not sure how to manage a trial, tragedy or trigger, might emote differently. Her/Him/They should not be GENERALLY denigrated for the emotive response of a SPECIFIC thing.

For example, if while you are conducting this interview, you get a call that your Mom passed of cancer, most would initially cry. You would agree, right? Well, if it was my Mother that suffered long with it, I would actually praise and rejoice…LOUDLY! Does that mean that I’m cold and calloused or would that mean that I just handled it differently! Knowing that my mother is no longer in pain…no longer suffering… FREE. OF. THIS. LIFE. should cause ANYONE to shout! Well, that same difference can be seen in the term “low self-esteem”. Ummm… sidenote here: First of all…who set the bar to say what is the measure of “Low” or “High esteem” in society… was it someone with low self-esteem that needed validation of their levels of healing or was it the need to label something to help others become experts in being better able to judge? Next is, are why are there microaggressions around this, as if “Low esteem” is a bad thing! Noting that nothing is good or bad, needs to be fixed, or is a “bad trait” of someone. This could be a need to grow, a need to know or a stage of learning a new thing in this process and the “negativity” seen could be a beginning stage of that process. How many times have you been on a diet…and failed? Is your failure a factor of low esteem or no will power or is it just proof that this is not the diet for you? I see the term “low self-esteem” as a judgement of others that most seem to buy-into and not a defining point in a person!

Pgmag: Tell us more about your initiatives/projects.

DAA: Well, the site is the best directive for that; its www.fighr.org This is the catch-all for the day-to-day resource, subsidy and connection for the work that we do. But more specifically, on the MACRO level, we deal with those that are left behind, regionally zoned and pushed behind and those labelled as “other” that are systematically uncounted or deemed “too few” to be recognized. On the MEZZO level, we are savvy to work with ALL Human and Gender Rights Advocates, Sponsors and Allies that work to defend and protect vulnerable populations that include Sexual and Gender-based Violence, those victims of FGM…or Female Genital Mutilation… Pregnant Child Brides and IDP’s (or Internally Displaced Persons) that are refugees, currently seeking asylum or those just needing to leave a violently domesticated life! On the MICRO level (the most important, in my eyes) We deal the macabre tendencies of these mental and physical violations and match them with world helpers that are the true “Angel Investors”; those that give of their time, open their hearts (and homes at times) and become the to be (long-term) gatekeepers to the healing and resilience that is needed in recovery of most of the cases we take on.

Pgmag: What is your message for world leaders?

DAA: Stop the poverty-mindset. (Especially in the African Continent) Stop showing us that you are not a leader, but that you possess a seat of power. Stop showing us that your talent lies in stealing, validating your poverty-mindset and that the word dignity is not one in your arsenal of vernacular! You truly have never had anything (of value) in your life, you just have expensive things. And that you are sitting in a seat of the greatest giving yet you are the greatest thief! You don’t receive help from other agencies and governments, you just seize on the disadvantage of the very people that swore you to service…and its deplorable! I am quite ashamed, at this point to serve with them, but know that I will offer my assistance and relief in this, very soon…

Pgmag: What are your views on gender equality?

DAA: Simply that we should not need to have this conversation. Do have talks, slogans or campaigns around White-Male Privilege? Absolutely not!

But I'm clear that that if all the world was a stage, if you will, there would be definite power that would arise to show that women are just plausible, just as courageous and just as talented as ANY. MALE. ALIVE.

She is genetically resilient (Minority Leader, Attorney Stacey Abrams), politically resolute (New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden) and Poignant in HER Wisdom (Madame Phylicia Rashad) at any stage of HER view in society. But SHE is here and SHE is not going away so equality will always be organic… I think now we just have to build a new table to feed this to humanity on…stay tuned!

Pgmag: What were the top three books that changed your life?

DAA: WHOOO… ok… I have to narrow it down to three? Ok… Well, I would have to say Emotional Intelligence (Harvard Business Review) leads the pack. This was the book that gave definition to my elevated IQ and the use of it in my born leadership; EI is the “love child” if the left-brain and the right-brain had a baby!

Next, I will have to pull on the two reasons that FIGHR began, which is “Dignity” and “Leading with Dignity” (both by Dr. Donna Hicks). These set EI on FIGHR/FIRE (no pun intended…well, maybe a little bit). This is the creating of the CULTURE that brings of the best in people! This is the mission… THIS. IS. THE. WORK. I'm so humbled to have been gifted all three (3) of these books and pray great blessings on the women that sent them to me.

Pgmag: What are some of the steps to leading a successful team?

DAA: Well let’s take a page from ‘Leading with Dignity’ (Donna Hicks)… if I remember the wording correctly, a few of the memorable ‘tools’ needed to lead with Dignity are 1. Cultivate Trust 2. Activate Empathy 3. Encourage Lifelong Learning 4. Take Responsibility This alone speaks to the repeatable programming of the Humanistic Approach to being resilient in a society that needs powerful leaders to emerge! This is the “Stacy Abrams” (as I mentioned), “the AOC” (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez…my GIRL!) and even the quiet approach of our VP Madame Vice President, Kamala Harris! They all lead with a resilience in a manner that hits all four of these points!

Pgmag: What would you say to your younger self?

DAA: GIRL. SIT. DOWN….and take many seats! All that EG you got ain’t worth the salt of the tears you will shed later on, because of it. The lies you are telling yourself in order to FEEL…something and the pain you will cause others, because of it, will not be worth it…at all! You are a shell of a person and someone that just needs to grow into that big brain of yours! But… you will be just fine…just sit down right now… you are irritating me!

Pgmag: Finally, what is your message for women?

DAA: Two things… One is… KEEP. GOING. That is a phrase that is said by my “GLAM-squad” as I call them. (GLAM=Growth, Leadership, Atonement, Mentorship) these are the women that have made the mistakes and paid the price, that are now leaders in their own right, that teach though their “Master Classes” of their life to encourage and empower me. This is my Tribe. Second one…Your VIBE attracts your TRIBE so find yours! You will only be as successful and the five (5) people closest to you, so examine your circle and hire and fire accordingly.

Pgmag: Thank you for your time – much appreciated.

DAA: Thank you Sis! I am so honored to have shared this time with you and look forward to making this a continual thing! It was fun!

Pgmag: Please share your links with us.

DAA: Sure… well, I left my website, www.fighr.org so I will leave my IG (@IAmAmeenaAli) and my Linkedin: ( www.linkedin.com/in/ameenaali ) for those that are on the platforms.

Thank you all for your time and talent and I pray you peace in your week!