In countries as different as Iran and Saudi Arabia, there has been progress in women’s rights over recent years. But internal repression, sanctions and deep-seated patriarchal traditions still hold women back from an equal role in Middle Eastern societies. An international panel of experts will discuss advancement that has been made in the region, and steps that need to be taken moving forward.
Welcoming Remarks
Barbara Slavin, Distinguished Fellow, Stimson Center
Barbara Slavin is a distinguished fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington, the editor of the Middle East Voices blog and a lecturer in international affairs at George Washington University. Prior to joining Stimson, she founded and directed the Future of Iran Initiative at the Atlantic Council and led a bi-partisan task force on Iran. The author of Bitter Friends, Bosom Enemies: Iran, the US and the Twisted Path to Confrontation, she is a regular commentator on US foreign policy and Iran.
Featured Speakers
Hind Al Ansari, Non-resident fellow, Gulf International Forum
Hind Al Ansari is a development and global education researcher based in Washington. She is currently a non-resident fellow at the Gulf International Forum and recently completed a one-year fellowship at the Wilson Center. Hind has published multiple articles and has been recognized for her work as a recipient of the Middle East Policy Council 40 Under 40 Award. She holds a PhD in Education from Cambridge University and a Master in Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard.
Merissa Khurma, Director, Middle East Program, Wilson Center
Merissa Khurma is the program director of the Middle East Program at the Wilson Center and previously was a non-resident fellow at the New America Foundation. She has led projects in the Middle East that focused on economic development, the Syrian refugee crisis, education, youth, gender development, and governance. Khurma also served as director of the Office of Jordan’s Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein and director of the Information Bureau at the Embassy of Jordan in Washington.
Sussan Tahmasebi, Executive Director of FEMENA
Sussan Tahmasebi has been working to strengthen civil society and advocate women’s rights in Iran and in the MENA region for over 20 years. Currently she serves as the Executive Director of Femena, an
organization that promotes gender equality and supports women human rights defenders, their organizations and feminist movements. FEMENA is particularly focused on contexts where civil society space is constrained and there is growing authoritarianism, extremism and conflict.
Kristin Diwan, Senior Resident Scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington
Kristin Diwan is a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington and visiting professorial lecturer at George Washington University. She works at the intersection of comparative politics and international relations with an emphasis on social movements. Her current projects concern generational change, nationalism, and the evolution of Islamism in the Arab Gulf states. Her articles have appeared in both academic and policy journals such as International Affairs and Foreign Affairs, and her commentary in prominent media such as the New York Times, Financial Times and Washington Post. She holds a Ph.D. in Government from Harvard University.
Moderator
Maryam Rezaei Zadeh, Faculty Assistant at the University of Maryland
Maryam Rezaei Zadeh is a Faculty Assistant and Mentor for Persian House at the University of Maryland and works with the Middle East Voices project at the Stimson Center. She received her Master of Public Policy at the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland. Her research and academic interests lie at the intersection of international security and relations, focusing on empowering and advocating for women’s and marginalized groups’ rights in the Middle East.