Her groundbreaking “Noor Campaign” emphasized the critical role of women’s faith leaders in promoting a more accurate understanding of religion and advancing women’s rights, particularly in conflict and fragile settings. Her leadership in bringing coalitions of faith actors together to challenge the suppression of women’s rights perpetuated by religious text interpretations was cited as a “turning point in women’s rights globally” by Human Rights Watch. Alaa’s TED Talk, viewed over seven million times, was selected as “TED Talk of the Day” and one of “4 moving TED Talks you should watch right now” by The New York Times and spurred inclusive security and religious peacebuilding efforts globally.

Alaa is also a medical doctor and a London School of Economics graduate. Alaa was named a prestigious Harvard Radcliffe Fellow in 2021 and currently serves as the Director of Global Programs, Advocacy, and Communications at the Gates Foundation. She is an International Criminal Court Hauge-certified sexual and gender-based violence investigator. She’s advised 40+ countries at the Head of State and ministerial levels and held executive leadership roles at Phase Minus 1, IMPACT 2030, and the Omnis Institute. She is a founding member of the International Treaty on Gender-Based Violence at Harvard University’s Carr Center.