Leila Mustapha is an engineer by training, a woman dedicated to science and education, elected to be leader of the Raqqa Civil Council (RCC) at age 30, the de facto mayor. During the war, she fled with her family when ISIS took control; now, she has been chosen to lead a city that, according to the UN, is 80% destroyed, the streets littered with landmines. Over 150,000 people have returned to Raqqa, and, with Leila Mustapha’s leadership, the RCC has helped open hundreds of schools and businesses, and restore democracy. Even with her successes, she is still a woman in a world controlled by men, and hers is no easy task.
