Zainab Salbi, President and Founder of Women for Women International, to Give Briefing on Current Situation in Iraq

WHO: Zainab Salbi, President of Women for Women International. Salbi founded the organization in 1993 to provide women survivors of war, civil strife and conflict with tools and resources to move from crisis and poverty into a civil society that promotes and protects peace, stability, and self-sufficiency.

Ms. Salbi will be discussing her recent trip to Iraq and the economic, political and social conditions she observed while there. She will discuss current challenges, the status of Iraqi women and the importance of integrating gender into the reconstruction process. Ms. Salbi will also discuss Women for Women International's programming goals in Iraq, and share individual stories of women facing the aftermath of war.

Ms. Salbi recently returned from her third mission to Baghdad in six months. She has met with local NGO's, international donors, local leaders and women in need to assess the conditions in post-war Iraq. On her most recent trip, Salbi found that women are struggling to support their families in a post-war society that lacks access to basic necessities, such as food, electricity, and health care. There is a lack of job opportunities, making it difficult for women to support their families. And, women face a lack of security - including the threat of abduction and rape - that are keeping them almost captive in their homes. Salbi will be discussing the progress that has been made in the last six months, and how the opening of Women for Women International - Iraq will support women there.

Before leaving for Iraq, Ms. Salbi testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs and the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights in a hearing titled "Constitutionalism, Human Rights, and the Rule of Law in Iraq."

Women for Women International provides women survivors of war with direct aid, rights awareness and leadership training, vocational skills training, and small business development programs. The organization will begin working with women in Iraq in July 2003.

WHERE:      Women for Women International Headquarters
                      1850 M Street, NW Suite 1090

WHEN:        Thursday, July 17th
                     Light Breakfast at 9:30 AM Briefing Begins at 10:00 AM, Questions to Follow.