Welcome to SWO
Sufi Women Organization (SWO) was founded by Dr. Nahid Angha, and established in 1993 under the auspices of the International Association of Sufism—the only Sufi organization recognized as a United Nations NGO/DGC. As a forum of all women, across all backgrounds and faith traditions, SWO has been tremendously successful in gathering and supporting women from diverse backgrounds who share dedication to the protection and advancement of human rights. Through its programs and partnerships, SWO contributes to many international organizations, including through its own grantmaking initiative: Women’s Wisdom Women in Action Service Appreciation Grants. Membership in SWO is open to people of all genders who share a commitment to human rights and dignity for all ,especially the women and children of the world. Our members include students, teachers, mothers, fathers, grandparents, therapists, aid workers, professionals, physicians, social workers, community activists, and more. To learn more, we invite you to read Dr. Angha’s Message from the Founder, and article “Women in Islam,” as well as SWO’s Code of Ethics and Open Letter to World Leaders.
* Read the Sufi Women Organization’s 2024 Message from the Founder.
No individual stands alone; we cannot underestimate the strength and determination of the women of our past,
who began a journey toward women’s equality long ago, nor should we underestimate
the women of the world who continue to keep a peaceful transformation alive in our communities.
– Dr. Nahid Angha
Discover the Impact of the Incredible Grantees in SWO’s
Women’s Wisdom: Women in Action Service Appreciation Grants Program
The Women’s Wisdom: Women in Action Service Appreciation Grants program, founded by Dr. Nahid Angha in 1999, has empowered women-led initiatives and organizations around the globe, with transformative impacts in four key areas: Equity, Healthcare, Education, and Human Rights. Focused on underserved communities, grantees are making a significant impact by improving the lives of women and girls through diverse efforts such as social programs, entrepreneurship, trauma services, conflict resolution workshops, immunization and preventative care, sustainable farming, and clean water initiatives. Learn more about the grant recipients advancing well-being in their communities.
SWO grantees are advancing bold and compassionate work around the globe. Example projects include: A Women and Girls Empowerment Program in Eastern Uganda promoting rights to property and education; The Migrant Women’s Association Malta (MWAM) providing vital social support to asylum-seeking and refugee women in Malta; Educational and social service programs in Portugal uplifting African immigrant families and children.
Featured Grantee:
Peace Mothers, Sierra Leone
Since its founding in 2010, the Peace Mothers initiative has transformed communities within the operational districts of Fambul Tok in Sierra Leone, including by forming over 250 support groups across three districts. These remarkable women, who focus includes survivors of war and Gender-Based Violence (GBV), have been pivotal in fostering peace and spearheading local development projects. Their efforts include farming (cassava, beans, and groundnuts), establishing health posts, and participating in savings and credit associations to support school and medical expenses. With support from SWO, the Peace Mothers continue to uplift their communities through resilience, collaboration, and economic empowerment.
Join SWO for Special Events in the
Women’s Wisdom: Women in Action Speaker Series
Under the direction of Dr. Nahid Angha, the Sufi Women Organization hosts a semi-annual speaker series, Women’s Wisdom: Women in Action. This inspiring program honors the voices and work of leaders, activists, and humanitarians who have provided exemplary services. Through these gatherings, SWO brings people together to learn, connect, build community, and cultivate ways of living and working oriented toward dignity, health, and service. See some of SWO’s featured speakers below, and learn more about the full program. We hope you’ll join us and we’d love to welcome you at an upcoming event!
Click here to sign up for IAS newsletters, including SWO’s monthly email newsletter.
Dr. Shelly Wold
Dr. Shelly Wold is a practicing psychotherapist and currently works with a team of women at Thought Partners in Marin, CA, providing psychotherapy for adolescents and adults. She is also a mother and the founder and Executive Director of Positive Pathways, a play-based behavioral health agency.
Lucia Martel-Dow
Lucia Martel-Dow is the Director of Immigration and Social Services for Canal Alliance, a non-profit serving the local Latino community. She was appointed to the San Rafael City School Board, and also serves on the board of the Ritter Center. In her role as vice-chair of the Commission, Lucia brings a passionate commitment to the immigrant community in Marin as well as to issues of equity and justice for all children and families. Lucia attended the Universidad Central de Venezuela, where she earned a law degree, and UC Hastings College of the Law and earned a Master of Law degree in International Business and Trade.
Linda Graham
Linda Graham, MFT is a long-time psychotherapist, consultant and trainer who has spent more than two decades developing an interactive model for therapeutic transformation. She became a licensed marriage and family therapist in 1995, specializing in helping people reverse the impact of stress and trauma, manage anxiety and depression, loneliness and shame, and shift out of reactivity and contraction toward more openness, trust, compassionate connection, clarity, and wise choices. She seeks to help people turn regrettable moments into teachable moments, to recover a sense of resilience, centeredness and wholeness, and to develop the tools and confidence for thriving and flourishing. Her first book, Bouncing Back: Rewiring Your Brain for Maximum Resilience and Well-Being, was published in 2013, and integrated paradigms and practices of neuroscience with Western relational psychotherapy and Eastern contemplative practices, and includes more than 80 experiential exercises to strengthen the brain’s capacities to respond well even under intense stress. Her book Resilience: Powerful Practices for Bouncing Back from Disappointment, Difficulty, and Even Disaster, leads readers through an evidence-based trajectory of tools of somatic, emotional, relational, and reflective intelligences to face and cope with any adversity, recover personal strengths, and live a compassionate and courageous life. Learn more here.
Dr. Anya Dozier Enos
Dr. Anya Dozier Enos is member of Santa Clara Pueblo, with over 30 years of experience in Indian education. As Education Development Director at the tribally controlled Santa Fe Indian School, she focuses on innovative curriculum and professional development for educators of Native American students.
Riffat Sultana
Riffat Sultana channels the musical wisdom of 500 years and eleven generations of master musicians in her family in India and Pakistan. But in all those years, she is the first woman to sing in public. For a Muslim woman in a traditional country, such a career simply was not appropriate. Perhaps one reason her performances today have such overwhelming emotional power is that she sings for all the woman who never had that chance before. For Riffat, it took moving to the United States to free her musical soul. Now, her amazing voice is being heard around the world, including a featured spot in the 2004 “We Are The Future” concert, produced by Quincy Jones in Rome, Italy.
Gift of Peace Donation Drive
Thank you for supporting the Gifts of Peace Donation Drive!
With heartfelt gratitude, we thank everyone who participated in SWO’s most recent Gifts of Peace initiative. Because of your generosity and partnership, SWO provided nearly 900 coats and hundreds of nourishing meals to individuals and families in need. Together, we helped bring comfort and hope to our communities during the coldest months of the year. We look forward to continuing these efforts with future drives. Thank you!
Celebrating 30 Year of SWO
Join Us: Become a Member of SWO
Join the Sufi Women Organization
Be part of a global, interfaith community committed to compassion, justice, and uplifting women, girls, and families. As a member of the Sufi Women Organization, you will connect with like-hearted individuals from around the world while actively supporting humanitarian and social service projects that advance the rights, lives, and wellbeing of women, families, and communities. Membership is open to all, and men are warmly encouraged to join. Your membership directly supports SWO’s Women’s Wisdom, Women in Action Service Appreciation Grants Program, which uplifts the leadership of remarkable women creating innovative community-based change.
Support Women’s Wisdom: Women in Action Service Appreciation Grants
Equity * Healthcare * Education * Human Rights
Featured Books
A unique collection of narratives from women worldwide, sharing stories of compassion, bravery, and a vision of a better world, highlighting the wisdom that empowers change.
A collection of the writings from contemporary Sufi women across four different cultures and six Sufi orders, marking the first volume in a series dedicated to the life stories and works of the Sufi women.
Life stories, poetry, prayers of Sufis Khvajeh Abdullah Ansari, Hakim Omar Khayyam, Khvajeh Shamsuddin Mohammad Hafiz, Moulana Jalaluddin Rumi, Moulana Shah Maghsoud Sadegh Angha, Ezzeddin Nasafi.
Wisdom sayings and selected teachings of Dr. Nahid Angha organized into categories including: Life, Longing, Heart, Nature, Love, Peace, Meditation, Transformation, and Spiritual Discipline.
SWO Council
Zaheda Baruti has been a student of Sufism since 1989, deeply grateful for the transformative guidance of her teachers, Seyedeh Dr. Nahid Angha and Shah Nazar Dr. Ali Kianfar. Over the years, she contributed to the production of some of the early Sufism Journals and book reviews, and has also spoken at IAS and SWO events. With a degree in Human Development and experience as a social worker, Zaheda has aimed to make a positive impact on societal challenges, including serving as a pioneer project coordinator for the SWO Women in Prison project. Her passions include art, movement, prayer, Zehr, and Sufi poetry. Today, she channels her dedication to personal and community growth as a Lifestyle Transformation Coach and the owner of a local Nutrition Club.
Arife Hammerle, Ph.D. holds a Juris Doctorate and Doctorate in Clinical Psychology and is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She has extensive experience working with clients on relationship development, self growth and communication issues in the Community Healing Centers program affiliated with the International Association of Sufism. She has written many articles and is frequently called upon to give lectures and lead workshops in psycho-spiritual knowledge, Sufi Principles and Practices and Meditation. Dr. Hammerle is a member of the SWO Council. Her work has always focused on social change for the advancement of women and girls. She is a member of the International Association of Sufism and a student of Sufism and an accomplished author who has completed research linking psychology and spirituality.
Mary Hendrickson, RN, is a long-time member of the International Association of Sufism and an active participant on the Sufi Women Organization Council. She also serves on the IAS communications and publicity team, helping to build community. Mary has over 20 years of experience working as an RN and educator in trauma and emergency care. She has worked inside the emergency departments of several large Bay Area academic medical centers. Mary has also previously served as a board member for the Marin Childcare Council, where she supported its mission to improve the availability and accessibility of quality early childhood education and care.
Sarah Hastings Mullin, Ph.D. is a member of the Sufi Women Organization council and a member of the International Association of Sufism. Having attended all girls’ schools and a women’s college she recognizes the gift she received in being well supported and empowered throughout her life and since has felt called to support other women. She is a clinical psychologist with a private practice. Her clinical interests include increasing self-esteem and self-confidence, especially for women, pregnancy/post partum, anxiety and existential/transpersonal explorations. Her dissertation and subsequent publications have focused on the potential for higher states of self-development and direct knowing as taught by Seyedeh Dr. Nahid Angha and Shah Nazar Seyed Dr. Ali Kianfar. She holds a second-degree black belt in Aikido.
Nancy Roybal has been active member of the SWO Council from 2012 to the present under the guidance of Dr. Nahid Angha, founder of the Sufi Women Organization (SWO), a department of the International Association of Sufism. She is the editor of the Sufi Women Quarterly Newsletter. She has served on the Harvest fundraising committee, and supports the recipients of the Women’s Wisdom Women in Action service appreciation grant program. Nancy is a key member of the Women Wisdom Women in Action lecture series committee and the Marin Interfaith Council board of directors. She is a women’s rights activist with a long history of promoting active relationships with international humanitarian organizations.