Internship gives insight into the world of human-rights advocacy

Hanan Rimawi, a third-year student at Tulane University, was recently awarded a prestigious internship with Dr. Alaa Murabit, UN High-Level Commissioner on Health Employment and Economic Growth and one of 17 Sustainable Development Goal Global Advocates appointed by the UN Secretary General. Rimawi will serve as a mentee for Dr. Murabit and be exposed to the interface between policy, international peace and security, global health, and human rights.

Murabit graduated from high school at the age of 15 and then moved to Libya, where she founded The Voice of Libyan Women to encourage their participation in the wake of the 2011 regime change. Named as “One of 25 women under 25 to watch” by Newsweek and a 2017 Forbes 30 Under 30, Murabit is a leading international voice for women’s rights and inclusive peace processes.

Rimawi has also built an impressive resume in a short time. She began volunteering at a local nursing home in the seventh grade, graduated at the top of her class from Ursuline Academy and received a Dean’s Scholarship from Tulane. Rimawi volunteered with the Palestinian Medical Relief Society in 2015, traveling with doctors to remote areas across Palestine and Jordan. She’s currently a double major in neuroscience and public health and, in her spare time, volunteers with Children’s Hospital, NO/AIDS Task Force, Our Lady of Wisdom Healthcare Center and Paper Airplanes, an organization through which she tutors a Syrian student in English and SAT preparation via Skype. Rimawi also writes for websites including Muslim Girl and The Tempest.

"...This is another example of what amazing experiences and accomplishments Tulane students are capable of achieving.”

Stacy Drury, associate director of the Tulane Brain Institute

“Hanan is truly a rising star whose incredible passion for human rights and the lives of others has once again helped her find an incredible opportunity, and one, in typical Hanan fashion, she will utilize to its fullest extent,” says Stacy Drury, associate director of the Tulane Brain Institute and Rimawi’s research adviser.

“This represents an opportunity for Hanan to network and develop new skills with a powerful female physician role model who continues to impact human rights around the world. Perhaps most importantly, this is another example of what amazing experiences and accomplishments Tulane students are capable of achieving.”