NEW YORK, Oct. 11, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Emmy-award winning filmmaker Anisa Mehdi will lead an exciting panel discussion about how women are breaking new ground in advancing their rights and roles in Muslim societies. Panelists include 2007 Gruber Women's Rights Prize recipient Pinar Ilkkaracan of Turkey; Daisy Khan, Executive Director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement; Zainab Salbi, founder of Women for Women International; and Sakena Yacoobi, founder of the Afghan Institute of Learning and 2004 Gruber Women's Rights Prize Laureate.
The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation will present its 2007 Women's Right Prize medal to Pinar Ilkkaracan of Istanbul, Turkey, and two organizations she helped establish. Ms. Ilkkaracan, Women for Women's Human Rights - New Ways (WWHR) and the Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies (CSBR), will share the unrestricted $500,000 (U.S.) award. The symposium will immediately follow the Prize ceremony on October 16, 2007, at New York University School of Law.
Within a political environment not normally cited for advances in the status of women and their equal protection under law, Ms. Ilkkaracan has broken new ground in helping to effect radical and extensive reforms of Turkish law to bring equality to women in many areas. Through WWHR and CSBR, Ms. Ilkkaracan has played an important role in training Turkish women in legal literacy and helping to reform civil and penal codes to advance women's rights in Turkey and internationally. The work of Ilkkaracan and the two organizations has brought about significant, tangible improvement in the day-to-day treatment of women under Turkish law.
The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation Women's Rights Prize is presented to an individual or group that has made significant contributions, often at great personal or professional risk, to furthering the rights of women and girls in any area and to advancing public awareness of the need for gender equality to achieve a just world.
Additional Symposium Participants
Daisy Khan -- Executive Director of the ASMA Society (American Society for Muslim Advancement), a non-profit organization dedicated to developing an American Muslim identity and to building bridges between the Muslim community and the general public through dialogues in faith, identity, culture, and arts.
Zainab Salbi -- Founder and CEO of Women for Women International. Ms. Salbi has initiated a quiet but strong movement to help women survivors of wars and civil strife to rebuild their lives. Ms. Salbi has dedicated her life to the belief that stronger women build stronger nations. She is the author (with Laurie Bucklend) of Between Two Worlds: Escape from Tyranny: Growing Up in the Shadow of Saddam, a memoir that documents her life growing up in Iraq.
Sakena Yacoobi -- Founder of AIL (Afghan Institute of Learning) and 2004 Gruber Women's Rights Prize Laureate. After receiving a Master's Degree in Public Health in the U.S., Professor Yacoobi returned to her native Afghanistan, where she began working with Afghan refugees living in Pakistan. She established a grassroots program within the International Rescue Committee and within a year had quadrupled the number of Afghan girls enrolled in school.
Anisa Mehdi, Moderator -- An Emmy Award-winning journalist specializing in religion, the arts, and people. For over 20 years Ms. Mehdi has reported, written, directed and produced television news and documentary programs for major American media outlets, including National Geographic, PBS, ABC News, and CBS. Her commentaries have been heard on NPR's "All Things Considered."
Event Location:
New York University School of Law Greenberg Lounge, Vanderbilt Hall 40 Washington Square South New York, New York 4 p.m.
The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation honors and encourages educational excellence, social justice and scientific achievements that better the human condition. For more information about the Foundation and its priorities, please visit www.gruberprizes.org. Video of the 2007 Gruber Women's Rights symposium will be available worldwide beginning Thursday, October 18, 2007, on the Gruber website.
NOTE TO MEDIA: PRIZE RECIPIENT AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS/PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES
To schedule a one-on-one interview with Ms. Ilkkaracan, a photo opportunity with the panel or to attend and cover the symposium at New York University Law School, contact Alyson O'Mahoney at (914) 241-0086, ext 13, or email aomahoney@robinleedyassociates.com.