Taban Shoresh • تابان شۆرش

Taban (born 1983) is a Kurdish-British humanitarian worker. A former child genocide survivor of 1980s Iraq, Taban Shoresh @tabanshoresh set up The Lotus Flower @thelotusf in 2016 after witnessing the impact of ISIS in her homeland.

The charity empowers women and girl survivors through training and educational programs at its camp-based centers in Kurdistan. The Lotus Flower’s projects are focused around education, health, wellbeing and skills-building, enabling women and girls to recover from trauma, while also unlocking their financial potential.

Hello, my name is Taban Shoresh and I’m founder of The Lotus Flower, a charity for women and girl conflict survivors. Although we only launched three years ago, my journey began a long time ago, when I was a child political prisoner during Saddam Hussein's dictatorship. After my family and I escaped a plot to bury us alive, we were eventually rescued by Amnesty International and able to begin a new life in the UK.

My traumatic experiences as a girl left a permanent mark on me, and years later, I gave up my London career to return to Kurdistan, where a second genocide was being committed by ISIS. The scale of suffering I witnessed was devastating, and I returned to the UK knowing I had to do more.
That aim became a reality in 2016, when I established The Lotus Flower. Despite launching with virtually no funding, we have supported more than 5,000 female survivors so far, providing access to education and skills-training, as well as mental health awareness and guidance in human rights and gender equality. We also offer safe spaces in which they can heal and make new friendships.
It’s my belief that all women and girls should have such opportunity, wherever they are in the world. I also believe they must be empowered to take active roles in their communities to bring social and economic change. While these outcomes are harder for women to achieve, giving them a voice and showing they’ve not been forgotten makes a huge difference.

I’m often asked how I keep going, especially as most of our work happens in a challenging and volatile environment. In all honesty, it’s not been easy, and the struggles can sometimes seem overwhelming. But I’m passionate about what we stand for, and am lucky to have a strong female support system of my own – thanks to friends, family and those who share The Lotus Flower values.

We still have a long way to go, but I hope to keep inspiring others along the way. After all, the more we grow and nurture female solidarity, the louder and more powerful our collective voice will become…my advice is be brave, be collaborative, and be you.

ڕزگاربووی کۆمەڵکوژی منداڵانه له‌ ۱۹۸۰ له‌ عیراق ، تابان لۆته‌س فلاوه‌ری له‌ ۲۰۱٦ دروست کرد پاش دیتنی به‌سه‌رهاتی داعش له‌ ولاته‌که‌ی ، کاره‌ خێرخوازییه‌که‌ی یارمه‌تی کچان و ئافره‌تان ده‌دات که‌ له‌ کامپاکان ده‌ژین