Born in Somalia, educated in Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia, Europe and the U.S., Hibaaq Osman is based in Cairo where she began Karama, an Arab women's antiviolence network whose name means "Dignity" in Arabic.  The Karama network, under the aegis of V-Day, is a robust regional initiative running across nine countries in the Arab world and raising $400,000 a year from institutional donors.

October 19 - 24, 2007, the Arab Women's Foundation went public in the Arab region, announcing themselves as the first women’s foundation there. With a marquee panel of female philanthropists, they hosted sessions at “New Arab Woman: a Forum on Leadership and Social Responsibility,” sponsored by Al Hasnaa, the leading women’s magazine in the region. The conference was held in Dubai with support from The Sister Fund.