Rana Abdelhamid is a Queens-born organizer, self-defense instructor, and community builder who has spent nearly two decades advocating for the safety, dignity, and empowerment of women and immigrant communities. She is the founder and Executive Director of Malikah, a grassroots organization that provides self-defense, healing justice, economic empowerment, and organizing programs to thousands of women and girls across New York City and around the world. Rana began this work as a teenager after surviving a hate-motivated attack in Astoria, transforming her own healing into a global movement for collective safety.
As a leader rooted deeply in her neighborhood, Rana has built community safety infrastructures that address the real conditions working-class families face, from food insecurity and immigration threats to gender-based violence and housing displacement. Under her leadership, Malikah has organized asylum-seeker support initiatives, founded the Ramadan Night Market, Astoria Halal Fest, operated community fridges and mutual-aid hubs, passed the historic MENA data disaggregation bill, and convened the National Muslim Women’s Summit, bringing together hundreds of Muslim women from across the country for training and leadership development.
Today, Rana continues this work as a mother raising her son in Astoria, a neighborhood she has organized in since she was 15. She is currently leading efforts to build long-term community infrastructure, expand MENA civic power, and create real pathways for safety and belonging for immigrant families across New York. Her work has been recognized by major institutions, including the Harvard University, and the New York City Council, but her deepest commitment remains to the everyday neighbors she serves in Queens.