Member of the Shura Council of Saudi Arabia, Former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations & Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund
Co-founder, Democratic Association of Moroccan Women (ADFM), and Morocco Human Rights Council Member
On October 22, 2013, WLP, in partnership with Cultural Conversations of the Foreign Policy Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, discusses women's rights and democracy in the MENA region particularly in light of the "Arab Spring," followed by a screening of WLP's documentary, Because Our Cause is Just,and panel discussion with experts from the region.
The event will commence with opening remarks by Azar Nafisi, Executive Director of Cultural Conversations, who will highlight the targeting of women and women's rights in times of transition and upheaval, and women's role in exposing the weaknesses of oppressive regimes - their "privilege as canaries in the mine."
Following the film screening, panelists will focus on the region's changes since the start of the “Arab Spring,” and current dynamics with regards to women’s rights.
From March 10–21, 2025, government officials, international policy leaders, and civil society activists will gather in New York for the 69th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69). During the session, Member States will assess the challenges affecting the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and the progress toward gender equality, women's empowerment, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
This lecture, co-sponsored by Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) and Women's Learning Partnership (WLP) in partnership with several other feminist organizations, and co-hosted by McGill University’s Center for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism, is a conversation with renowned feminist Charlotte Bunch on navigating the current era of global backlash against women's rights.
