THE 500 MOST INFLUENTIAL MUSLIMS - CESD

WOMEN’S ISSUESMiddle East and North AfricaALGERIAkheddar, cherifaCherifa Kheddar is the outspoken president and founder of the Djazairouna (Our Algeria)Association, which provides support to victims of the Algerian Civil War. She is the recipient of the2009 International Service Human Rights Award for the Defense of the Human Rights of Women.BAHRAINal zayani, afnan [new]Afnan al Zayani is the CEO of the multi-million dollar company Al Zayani Commercial Services(AZCS). She is recognized internationally as one of the most powerful businesswomen of this era.She is responsible for the passing of personal status laws in Bahrain that ensure the protection ofMuslim women’s rights in divorce and custody proceedings, something she oversaw during herleadership of the Bahrain Businesswomen’s Society (BBS). Subsequently al Zayani led the MiddleEast and North Africa Businesswomen’s Network and in 2010 she received the Leadership in PublicLife Award from Vital Voices, a women’s empowerment organization.IRANebadi, shirinShirin Ebadi is a lawyer who, in 2003, became the first Iranian to win the Nobel Peace Prize. She isthe founder of Children’s Rights Support Association and has defended and supported the rightsof children and women. Ebadi lectures about the human rights situation in Iran and espouses aliberal view of Islam appreciated by many Muslim feminists.rahnavard, zahraRahnavard is an author and staunch critic of Ahmadinejad. She broke convention by campaigningon her husband Mir-Hossein Mousavi’s 2009 presidential campaign, becoming the first womanto do so in Iran. She served as political advisor under President Khatami, and was the first femalechancellor of Alzahra University after the Islamic Revolution.JORDANhusseini, rana [new]An award-winning, internationally acclaimed journalist, Rana Husseini is credited for catalyzingthe legal reform against honour killings in Jordan. She is a senior reporter with The Jordan Times,a human rights activist, and author of Murder in the Name of Honour, which exposes the practiceof honour killings and advocates awareness of crimes against women.MOROCCOmernissi, fatemaMernissi is a Moroccan feminist writer and sociologist. She has done sociological research forUNESCO and the International Labour Organization as well as for the Moroccan authorities.Mernissi is currently a lecturer at the Mohammed V University of Rabat and a research scholarat the university’s Institute for Scientific Research in the same city. Mernissi’s work is significantin academic circles in the field of sociology and Middle Eastern Studies and is lauded by Muslimfeminists.131