Laila Ajjawi

Laila Ajjawi (Arabic: ليلى عجاوي, born June 9, 1990 She is of Palestinian descent, and was born and raised in a Palestinian refugee camp outside of Irbid, Jordan. Her work highlights women living in the Middle East, with a focus on refugees facing discrimination and limited resources in their countries of residence. She has created murals with Women on Walls, a public art project based in Egypt aimed at empowering women through street art.

Early life and education Ajjawi was born in a Palestinian refugee camp outside of Irbid, Jordan. She is the oldest of six children, and her father is a construction worker. Her family built their house on the site where her paternal grandparents resettled during the Nakba. While her family has cultural ties to Jenin, both of Laila's parents were born and raised in refugee camps.

Ajjawi attended Yarmouk University and studied biomedical physics.

Ajjawi's primary source of income comes from the humanitarian sector, and she has worked as a site supervisor in a refugee camp. She took the humanitarian route as a response to the Syrian crisis, saying her work with Syrian refugees has widened her knowledge of "social life and humanity."

Other works include a 2021 mural in Irbid titled My country's daughter, and a mural completed in 2023 in celebration of International Women's Day.

Ajjawi has partnered with other leaders that focus on women's empowerment as well. In 2015, she painted a mural for SheFighter, Lina Khalifeh's women-only martial arts training studio in Amman, Jordan.