ZAINAB SALBI
Zainab Salbi is the founder and president of Women for Women International, a non-profit that provides women survivors of war, civil strife and other conflicts with tools and resources to move from crisis and poverty into self-sufficient and active citizens who promote and protect peace and stability.
As a native of Iraq who arrived in the US at the age of 19, Zainab’s experience with the Iran-Iraq War and later the Gulf War sensitized her to the plight of women in war worldwide. At the age of 23, she decided to dedicate her life to providing the necessary support for women survivors of war and economic and social injustices. While starting her work in Croatia and Bosnia, Zainab soon expanded the organization’s effort to Rwanda, Kosovo, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Colombia, managed to send six million dollars in aid and loans to women beneficiaries.
Zainab has written and spoken extensively on the use of rape and other forms of violence against women in wartime. She also lectures on the status of women in the development process in post war era. Her speaking engagements include the HolocaustMuseum, StanfordUniversity, GeorgetownUniversity, and many other universities and human rights groups nationwide. On an international level, Zainab participated in the QueenSofiaCenter for Violence in Spain, PASSIA (Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs) in Jerusalem and The Global Peace Initiative of Women Religious & Spiritual Leaders in Geneva, Switzerland. She has also spoken at the University of Dhaka in Bangladesh. Her work has further been featured in major media outlets including a profile by Ashleigh Banfield on MSNBC and three appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show. The Chicago Tribune, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Guardian, are a few of the newspapers that have featured Zainab’s work along with several books includingSoul Sisters: the five Sacred Qualities of a Woman’s Soul.
Published works include: “Mass Rape: Natural, Cultural, or Social?,” Journal of Sacred Feminine Wisdom, 1996; “The Role of Microcredit in Poverty Alleviation in a Post Conflict/Transitional Society: Bosnian Villages as a Case Study,” Making the Transition Work for Women, World Bank Conference, June 1999; “Strategic Planning and Institutional Development,” Civil Society Empowerment Series: Strategic Planning, published by the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs, 1998; and a chapter in Women Philanthropy and Social Change: Visions for a just society edited by Elayne Clift.
In 1995, President Clinton honored Zainab at a White House ceremony for her humanitarian work in Bosnia. She has also been nominated by Amnesty International for the Arthur Ashe Award and by Physicians for Human Rights for the Reebok Human Rights Award.
Zainab earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and Women’s Studies from GeorgeMasonUniversity in 1996, and a Masters Degree in Economics and Development Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2001.