We are thrilled to tell you that Zainab Salbi has just been added to the stellar Emerging Women Live 2014 line-up of women living, working, and changing the world from a place of truth and alignment with themselves and with their powerful feminine values.
Zainab Salbi is an Iraqi-American humanitarian, entrepreneur, author, and media commentator who has dedicated herself to women’s rights and freedom. At the age of 23, she founded Women for Women International—a grassroots humanitarian and development organization dedicated to serving women survivors of war.
Her story is of how those women taught her to open up and live her truth, to live in alignment with herself, instead of bent to conform to others. She has done tremendous work for women worldwide, and we cannot wait to hear her share with us at Emerging Women Live.
“Allow yourself the space to become who you are. Allow yourself to express your creativity, to be true to yourself, and not do things out of societal pressure — do it all in pursuit of your truth.”
Under her leadership (1993-2011), Women for Women International grew from helping 30 women upon its inception to more than 370,000 in 8 conflict areas, leading to a distribution of more than 114 million dollars in aid and loans. Her perspective on the role of women in war and peace times is progressive and profound, and we look forward to hearing more during her EWlive14 keynote, “Women, War and Peace.”
Salbi is also the author of three books: the national bestseller “Between Two Worlds: Escape from Tyranny: Growing Up in the Shadow of Saddam” (with Laurie Becklund); “The Other Side of War: Women’s Stories of Survival and Hope”; and “If You Knew Me, You Would Care.” Her books received support from iconic women writers such as Alice Walker and from several celebrities including Angelina Jolie, Meryl Streep, and Annie Lennox.
“As women, we must speak out, speak up, say no to our inheritance of loss and yes to a future of women-led dialogue about women’s rights and value.”
In 2010, President Clinton nominated Salbi as one of the 21st century heroes as featured in Harper’s Bazaar. Newsweek and The Guardian named her in the Top 100 list of Most Influential Women (2011) and The Economist Intelligence Unit identified her as one of most inspirational women (2011). Most recently, Fast Company included Salbi on the list of 100 Most Influential Women (2012), and PBS’ Makers series highlighted Salbi as one of the Women Who Make America.
Salbi has received extensive coverage in US, UK, and global media from CNN to The New York Times, Financial Times, and The Independent. Most notably, Salbi appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show 10 times. Salbi was also named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2007 and the Clinton Global Initiative Lead by President Clinton in 2010. Salbi is currently co-producing a documentary with Abigail Disney and Gini Reticker on the role of women in the Arab Revolutions.
Check out Half the Sky’s video of Zainab, where she names the single most effective place we can invest our money to insure a better future for the world:
