MEDIA ADVISORY FOR: Fri. Sept.16 Wed. Sept.

21, 2011

CONTACT: Catherine Harrington at Women s Learning Partnership (WLP) 301-654-2774 (o) / 781-264-5783 (m) charrington@learningpartnership.org

GLOBAL WOMEN LEADERS CONVENE TO DISCUSS WOMEN AND DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION IN THE MIDDLE EAST
What is the impact of conservative forces in the region? What are the chances that MENA countries go the way of the Islamic Republic of Iran? What will the future hold for the women of the region?

*Interviews Available* Tuesday, September 20: Private Press Lunch 12:45-2:00 PM Public Event 9:30 AM-12:45 PM
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars One Woodrow Wilson Plaza - 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20004

WHO:

Amal Abdel Hadi (Egypt), Leading Egyptian feminist and human rights activist; Founding member of the New Woman Foundation, the Task Force Against Female Genital Mutilation, and the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights. Farida Naqash (Egypt) Prominent political and women s rights activist, writer, and journalist; Chairperson of Forum for Women in Development (FWID), Egypt.; First female Editor-in-Chief of Al-Ahali newspaper in Egypt. Asma Khader (Jordan) UNHRC independent investigator for human rights violations in Libya; Former Minister of Culture; Renowned international human rights lawyer

Raba Naciri (Morocco) Leading Moroccan women s rights activist; Founding

member of the Association Dmocratique des Femmes du Maroc Thoraya Obaid (Saudi Arabia) Former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund; Forbes World s 50 Most Powerful Arab Women, 2004 Yakin Ertrk (Turkey) Former UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women; Professor of Sociology Mahnaz Afkhami (Iran/USA) First Minister for Women's Affairs, Iran ; Founder & President, Women s Learning Partnership

WASHINGTON, D.C.: This is a time of critical opportunity for democracy throughout the MENA
region, but it is also a time of serious risk for women s rights. While women have been active participants, leaders, and spokespersons in the movements for democracy and human rights that have swept the Middle East and North Africa, they have often not been included in the negotiations that will determine the politics of the future. We are at an urgent moment. Difficult as it is, bringing about regime change is easier than building a

democratic society based on tolerance and gender justice. On September 20, 2011, leaders and activists from throughout the Middle East and North Africa, including Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, will address these challenges, and how to achieve viable democracies, given that women s position is a barometer for the success of democratic transition.

Women s Learning Partnership (WLP) trains and supports women primarily in Muslim-majority countries to become leaders and advocates for a just, peaceful world. WLP creates leadership trainings on democratic participation that are culturally adapted, in partnership with local organizations to help women gain the skills they need to fulfill greater leadership roles at the family, community, and national level. Over the past decade, WLP has published its training materials in 20 languages and used them to train over 15,000 women in 44 countries strengthening local organizations to become self-sustaining and to power women s movements across the globe. CONTACT: Catherine Harrington 301-654-2774 (o) / 781-264-5783 (m) charrington@learningpartnership.org