Please join MENAF at the University of Cambridge, England to commemorate International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month with an enlightening presentation by Dr. Nina Ansary, internationally recognised Iranian-American historian, author and leading expert on women’s rights, and director of MENAF’s Women’s Leadership Initiative.
18 months after the brutal murder in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Jina Amini, the momentum of the Woman. Life. Freedom. movement in Iran continues as women persevere, carrying the torch of valour through powerful and symbolic acts of civil disobedience.
Dr. Ansary will delve into the fascinating and complex history of women’s rights in Iran, the ongoing struggle for human rights, democracy and freedom, and the strength, power, resilience and hope of the Iranian woman. Her insights will further highlight the urgent need for change and the crucial role that the international community and world leaders can play in supporting women in Iran and their continued fight to change the course of history in their homeland.
The event is part of a speaker series in March 2024, commemorating International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, focusing on women in the MENA region, hosted as part of MENAF’s Women’s Leadership Initiative.
Dr. Nina Ansary is an award-winning Iranian-American author, historian and women’s rights advocate. She is a UN Women Global Champion for Innovation, director of the Cambridge Middle East and North Africa Forum Women’s Leadership Initiative, and former visiting fellow at the London School of Economics Centre for Women, Peace and Security.
Her best-selling books Jewels of Allah: The Untold Story of Women in Iran and Anonymous Is a Woman: A Global Chronicle of Gender Inequality garnered numerous awards – including the International Book Award in “Women’s Issues” and the Benjamin Franklin Book Award in “History” and “Interior Design.”
Nina is the recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, the Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Alumni Award, and the Barnard College, Columbia University Trailblazer Award.
She has appeared on CNN International, Fox News, Larry King, the Today Show, the BBC, Sky News and been featured in a variety of publications, including Newsweek, Maria Shriver’s The Sunday Paper, The Los Angeles Times, The UK Daily Telegraph, Teen Vogue and the Yale Journal of International Affairs. She has written for Time, HuffPost and The Daily Beast and presented her work at multilateral conferences, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, the United States Senate Human Rights Caucus, Girl Up Leadership Summit, the London School of Economics, and at Columbia, Harvard, Oxford, and Cambridge Universities.
Nina was born in Tehran and moved with her family to the United States after the 1979 Revolution in Iran. She grew up in New York City and received her Master of Arts in Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies and PhD in History from Columbia University. She serves on the Board of Trustees of the Iranian American Women Foundation and the Board of Advisors of the Cambridge Middle East and North Africa Forum.
6:00 PM – 6:30PM | Presentation
6:30 PM – 7:00 PM | Q&A
7:00 PM – | Drinks Reception
The event is free to attend and open to the public.
Registration for the event is now closed.
