Zaynab Abdi (born 1995 or 1996) is an American immigration, refugee, and women's rights advocate and speaker.

Early life and education

Abdi was born in Somalia to a Somalian mother and Yemeni father.[1][2] Due to the Somali Civil War,[3] she moved to Yemen with her family, although without her father, at the age of seven.[4] She played soccer as a child in Aden, Yemen,[5][6] and decided she wanted to be an architect.[3] While living in Yemen, Abdi's mother received a diversity immigrant visa to come to the United States. She chose to immigrate, with the hope of becoming a citizen and sponsoring the rest of her family; Abdi and her younger sister were left in the care of her grandmother.[3] Abdi's mother went on to remarry in the United States, and had two more daughters. Her grandmother died in 2010.[6]

Abdi and her sister moved to Cairo, Egypt in 2012 after the Arab Spring began in Yemen.[1] When the second Arab Spring happened in Egypt, Abdi and her sister applied to becomes asylum seekers in the United States.[1][3] Abdi immigrated to the United States in 2014, at age 17, and joined her mother in Minnesota, but her sister was unable to obtain a visa.[3][4][5][6]

Abdi attended Wellstone International High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota,[7] where she learned English, became a member of the student council, and formed a school soccer team.[5] She went on to attend St. Catherine University beginning in 2016, where she studied political science, international studies, and philosophy.[3] She graduated in 2020.[3]

After graduating college, she joined a soccer team based in the Twin Cities.[3] In 2017, the team became eligible to represent the United States in an international tournament, but Abdi, as a green card holder unable to leave he country, was unable to play.[3]

She went on to pursue her master's degree at Columbia University.[1]

Career

After graduating college in 2020, Abdi became a civic engagement coordinator for Reviving the Islamic Sisterhood for Empowerment (RISE), a Minneapolis-based nonprofit.[3][8]

Abdi has worked for Green Card Voices, a publishing organization helping immigrants in Minnesota,[1] as an immigrant and youth ambassador.[8]

In 2023, Abdi published the graphic novel Voice for Refuge: Our Stories Carried Us Here.[1] She founded a soccer team for immigrant and refugee children.[9] She was the delegate for the Malala Fund organization at the United Nations Social Good Summit.[10]

Personal life

Abdi is Muslim.[8] She has a younger sister, who lived in Belgium with her son as of 2021.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "From Somalia to Yemen to the U.S., Minneapolis woman finds a home – and a voice". MPR News. 2023-05-01. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  2. ↑ "Zaynab Abdi: This Is My Story". beta.prx.org. 2016-08-11. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Ansari, Hibah (2021-03-01). "Zaynab Abdi has lived through a civil war, two political revolutions, and a Trump presidency. Now she wants to put her family back together". Sahan Journal. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  4. 1 2 Mahamud, Faiza. "Among Minnesota's refugees, military presence in Twin Cities stirs painful memories". Star Tribune.
  5. 1 2 3 Stieg, Cory (2018-04-04). "How This 21-Year-Old Refugee Found Home In A Soccer Team". www.refinery29.com. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  6. 1 2 3 Abdi, Zaynab (2018-07-01). "Where Do I Belong? Zaynab Abdi". Minnesota Women's Press. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
  7. ↑ "International Student Overcomes Significant Odds on Way to Graduation". www.hiiraan.com. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  8. 1 2 3 "Congratulations to our 2020 Excellence Award Honoree Zaynab Abdi". Achieve Twin Cities. 2020-10-19. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
  9. ↑ "Quebrando Barreiras: Refugiada encontra uma nova identidade no futebol". Red Bull. May 18, 2018.
  10. ↑ "From Yemen to the United Nations: St. Kate's student advocates for women's education". St. Catherine University. October 3, 2016.
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