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Haleh Esfandiari Receives International Award

AMMAN, JORDAN—Dr. Haleh Esfandiari of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, a non-partisan institution based in Washington, D.C., was honored on May 21, 2008 as the first recipient of an award established in her name. The Haleh Esfandiari Award was presented to Dr. Esfandiari by a group of businesswomen and activists from countries across the Middle East and North Africa region, on the occasion of a conference sponsored by the Wilson Center, Women Entrepreneurs: Business and Legal Reform in the MENA Region, held in Amman, Jordan, May 20-May 22.

The award depicts two outstretched arms, with palms facing in different directions, symbolizing Dr. Esfandiari's work in building bridges and encouraging outreach between countries and cultures. The award was designed by Nour Saab, an artist living in England.

Dr. Esfandiari, director of the Wilson Center's Middle East Program, was honored for her work and dedication in promoting dialogue and understanding between cultures in the United States and Middle Eastern countries, and for her efforts on women's rights issues in the region.

Haleh Esfandiari has directed the Middle East Program at the Wilson Center for the past decade. In 2007, she was held in solitary confinement in Evin Prison in Tehran, Iran for more than one hundred days, accused of working to destabilize the Islamic Republic. (For further details surrounding her situation and confinement, please visit www.wilsoncenter/middleeast.)

"During and after her confinement, Haleh continued to exhibit compassion, strength, and dedication in her efforts to promote equality, peace and dialogue," said the award initiator Hanan Saab, President and CEO of Pharmamed, a pharmaceutical company in Beirut, Lebanon. "She truly is a role model, not only for women, but for all people who are interested in ultimately working towards world peace. Determinedly non-partisan, she has sought to understand and bring together all sides of complex issues."

"We plan to present this award annually to women who exemplify Haleh's strength, resilience, and dedication," said Fatima Sbaity-Kassem, visiting scholar at the Institute for Research on Women and Gender, Columbia University, and former director of the ESCWA Centre for Women at the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia. "Her leadership, humanity and solidarity with women across the globe are exceptional and unique, and her concern and efforts in bridging gender equality gaps are instrumental and necessary to improving diplomatic relations between countries and worldwide."

Media with questions may reach Sharon McCarter at (202) 691-4016 or by e-mail at sharon.mccarter@wilsoncenter.org. Photos will be available soon.