Baghdad , Iraq ( CNN ) -- Iraqi human rights activist Hanaa Edwar has proved she is not afraid to speak her mind . In June this year she stormed into a televised government conference and harangued Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki about the arrest of four protesters by the army . In a video clip widely circulated on YouTube she holds up photos of the young protesters and shouts : `` We , HR ( human rights ) NGOs accused of being terrorists , is this possible ? '' Edwar , the 65-year-old secretary of an Iraqi human rights association , Al-Amal , laughs as she looks back at the clip . She said her outburst was sparked by comments by Al-Maliki . `` He said I ask my friends and U.N. to see that some of the HR organizations in Iraq , they are killers and criminals , '' said Edwar . `` It is my duty to say something in this situation , I ca n't be shut up . '' Al-Amal was founded in 1992 after the Gulf War to help relieve the suffering of Iraqi people and build a just and democratic society , according to the organization . There have been demonstrations in Iraq since February demanding basic services and reforms . Both Al-Amal and Human Rights Watch are concerned the government is trying to portray the protesters as terrorists , and allowing thugs to beat and sexually assault them . Despite her long career in human rights , Edwar is pessimistic about the current state of her country . `` We are losing everything now in Iraq , even you know , our dream for democracy , our dream for elections , '' she said . She said she is inspired to continue her work by young people like 21-year-old Noof Assi , one of her employees . Who are Middle East 's most influential women ? Assi brushes off the harassment she receives driving to work each day through checkpoints manned by security forces . `` I do n't trust them , '' she said . `` Sometimes they just become aggressive with the people , sometimes because I am a girl and driving they make fun of me . '' Assi has long kept a blog and wrote about the terror she lived through at the age of 17 during the Iraq War . She said : `` One day I remember my sister hit me and she told me 'Come on , cry , ' because I could n't drop any tear because I see dead people , I see people killed in front of me , so the life at that time does n't matter for me . '' One entry from her blog at the time read : `` I dream to sleep without painkillers , I dream to wake up in a home that gives me love and hope , not to end it up in a grave . '' Assi has also set up a website , Iqpalmtree , celebrating heroic and accomplished Iraqi women throughout history . She said : `` My first goal was to make the Iraqis know about their women , because in our culture they do n't take them seriously , that 's what I want to change . '' Among those featured are Marie Teresar Asmer , an adventurer born in 1804 whose original diary is on display in the UK , and Hanaa Sadiz , an award-winning fashion designer currently working in Europe . And of course , her idol , Hanaa Edwar .
Human rights activists broke into government offices to confront Nuri Al - Maliki . Hanaa Edwar said she was provoked by police to smear demonstrators as terrorists . Young people give us hope for the future .