Epsilon Alpha Sigma is proud to honor Zainab Salbi, an Iraqi-American activist, author and former CEO of Women for Women International, as March’s Empowered Arab Woman of the month. Born in Baghdad in 1969, Salbi came to the United States in 1990. She received BA in Sociology and Women’s Studies from George Mason University then continued her education and received a master’s degree in Development Studies from the London School of Economics.
At the mere age of 23, she founded Women for Women International, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping women from war-torn countries rebuild their lives through educational and economic advancement. When Salbi learned of the violence and the rape camps in Bosnia and Croatia, she decided to create her non-profit and build a better world for female victims of war.
Furthermore, Salbi’s personal experience of living during war times in Iraq greatly impacted her life. Her father was the personal pilot to Saddam Hussein and living in close proximity to Hussein greatly influenced her daily life. In "Little House in the War Zone," her 2009 op-ed for The New York Times, Salbi shared her perspective on her life in Iraq and the influence of war. She is the author of three books, including a memoir titled Between Two Worlds: Escape from Tyranny: Growing Up in the Shadow of Saddam.
Salbi has continuously worked and continues to work to empower women and fight for ways to improve access to resources and basic human rights worldwide. She is the recipient of numerous awards and honors and has been named “Time” magazine’s Innovator of the Month, the World Economics Forum’s Young Global Leader, and won the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize in 2005 as the founder of Women for Women International.
The women of Epsilon Alpha Sigma thank you Zainab for all your work and dedication to improving women’s rights and creating a space for women who are victims of war. The Empowered Arab Sisterhood greatly appreciates all that you do.
At the mere age of 23, she founded Women for Women International, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping women from war-torn countries rebuild their lives through educational and economic advancement. When Salbi learned of the violence and the rape camps in Bosnia and Croatia, she decided to create her non-profit and build a better world for female victims of war.
Furthermore, Salbi’s personal experience of living during war times in Iraq greatly impacted her life. Her father was the personal pilot to Saddam Hussein and living in close proximity to Hussein greatly influenced her daily life. In "Little House in the War Zone," her 2009 op-ed for The New York Times, Salbi shared her perspective on her life in Iraq and the influence of war. She is the author of three books, including a memoir titled Between Two Worlds: Escape from Tyranny: Growing Up in the Shadow of Saddam.
Salbi has continuously worked and continues to work to empower women and fight for ways to improve access to resources and basic human rights worldwide. She is the recipient of numerous awards and honors and has been named “Time” magazine’s Innovator of the Month, the World Economics Forum’s Young Global Leader, and won the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize in 2005 as the founder of Women for Women International.
The women of Epsilon Alpha Sigma thank you Zainab for all your work and dedication to improving women’s rights and creating a space for women who are victims of war. The Empowered Arab Sisterhood greatly appreciates all that you do.