Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
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Eman AbdElRahman, Egypt
Blogger, Co-Founder of the Kolena Laila (“We are all Laila”) Initiative
Issue: Women’s rights and social media
How she delivers for women: Cairo-based blogger AbdElRahman is amplifying women’s voices across the Arab world.
In 2006, she helped found the Kolena Laila (“We are all Laila”) Initiative, which rallies bloggers across the region to
speak out about issues facing women in Arab societies. On one day each year, bloggers publish posts under the title
"We are all Laila," describing their experiences, interviewing mothers and sisters, airing frustrations and exposing
injustice. The project has attracted over 250 blog posts each year, with contributors from fourteen countries including
Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Libya. At only 26, AbdElRahman has built a virtual community fostering Arab
women’s self-expression and reflection, both a launching pad and a source of support for the region’s young feminist
writers.
Learn more: http://kolenalaila.com/en/organizers
Christiane Amanpour, UK
Journalist, Anchor of ABC News's This Week
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Michelle Bachelet, Chile
Executive Director of UN Women, Doctor, Former President of Chile
Sarah Brown, UK
Global Patron of the White Ribbon Alliance, Former First Lady of the UK, Founder and President of
PiggyBankKids
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Hillary Clinton, USA
Secretary of State, Democratic Presidential Candidate in 2008, Former Senator, Former
First Lady of the United States
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How she delivers for women: Diarra lost two daughters to “the tradition,” as female genital cutting is called in her
native Senegal, and the tragedy drove her to become an anti-cutting activist. Diarra’s first daughter was only three
when she died; her second daughter was seven. But a girl who did not undergo “the tradition” faced intolerable social
stigma, and it wasn’t until the elder of a neighboring village proposed ending the practice that Diarra and other
women could conceive of change – and speak out. In 1998, the 13 intermarrying villages in Diarra’s region decided,
together, to end female genital cutting. Then, with help from the nonprofit Tostan, Diarra approached 48 other
villages – all of whom abandoned the practice. Her determined grassroots activism and passionate approach to peer-
education has proven the power of communities to decide for themselves to put girls first.
Learn more: http://www.thedailybeast.com/video/item/marietou-diarra-discusses-genital-mutilation
Issue: Philanthropy
How she delivers for women: Adeleye-Fayemi believes in the potential of women-led NGOs in Africa,
and is proving to the world that women can transform their communities when offered the resources
they need. She is the founder of the African Women’s Leadership Institute, which has trained over
5,000 women from across the continent to lead community-based organizations. In 1995, she co-founded the African
Women’s Development Fund, which currently supports over 800 women-led NGOs. In 2005, she set up a specific fund
for women taking the lead in addressing HIV/AIDS, which has infected over 12 million women in sub-Saharan Africa.
Adeleye-Fayemi is a true leader: one who sees potential in other women, and will not rest until she sees that potential
fulfilled.
Learn more: http://www.awdf.org/our-work/board
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malarial mosquito net PermaNet, and the Lifestraw water filter. Frandsen and his company are committed to the
belief that doing business means, most importantly, doing good.
Learn more: http://www.vestergaard-frandsen.com/our-passion/about-our-ceo
Issue: Education
How she delivers for women: Ghubash is transforming science and technology research in the Arab world—one
woman at a time. As the former president of the Arabian Gulf University in Bahrain and president of the Arab Network
for Women in Science and Technology (ANWST), Ghubash is committed to advancing women’s education and
correcting the gender imbalance in the fields of science and technology. She has launched a professional network and
database to highlight the research of Arab women scientists and promote female leadership in a field where women
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often progress more slowly than men. As a woman with her Ph.D. in community and epidemiological psychiatry,
Ghubash belongs to an exclusive club – but she’s striving to throw open the doors and welcome more women inside.
Learn more: http://astf.net/womenrdi/rafiaghubash.html
Issue: Maternal and child health, female genital cutting and violence against women
How she delivers for women: A true pioneer, Ismail was the first woman in Somaliland to drive, the
first to receive official nurse-midwifery training, and she established the country’s first non-profit
maternity hospital. When she built her hospital, civil war had left the country’s health system in ruins, and Somaliland
had one of the highest maternal death rates in the world. Ismail has made it her mission to turn the health system
around. She is an outspoken advocate against female genital cutting and one of the nation’s only doctors providing
treatment for women with obstetric fistulas, a devastating and isolating injury. She is a hero in Somaliland, and her
work saves the lives of hundreds of women each year.
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Learn more: http://www.ednahospital.org/
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Andrea Jung, United States
Chairman and CEO of Avon Products, Inc.
Issue: Women’s economic empowerment, women’s health, and violence against women
How she delivers for women: Avon calls itself "the company for women," and Jung has made sure
it lives up to its billing. As the company’s first female chief executive, Jung has recruited more women to Avon’s board
than any other large public company, and ensured that the percentage of women in Avon’s top management exceeds
any company on the Fortune 500. Avon also employs more women than any company in the world, offering its 6.2
million sales representatives, in more than 100 countries, a route to self-employment, empowerment, and economic
independence. Jung has been the driving force behind the company’s philanthropic arm, the Avon Foundation for
Women, which has dedicated more than $725 million to campaigns to eradicate breast cancer and end violence
against women. She has made sure that Avon remains an invaluable partner for women worldwide.
Learn more: http://avoncompany.com
Issue: Midwifery
How she delivers for women: Kamal is a woman who delivers, in every sense of the word. Known as
the grandmother of midwifery in her native Pakistan, she’s helped hundreds of women in more than
fifty countries deliver babies safely, and for five decades she has led a one-woman crusade for the respect and
recognition of midwives worldwide. Kamal was instrumental in developing training curriculum and campaigning for
legislation to support and protect those caring for mothers and babies in some of the farthest reaches of the world.
She is currently developing Pakistan’s first-ever legislation governing the practice of midwifery. Truly a midwife’s
midwife, she is fighting to provide her fellow caretakers with the rights and resources they need to make sure no
woman dies while giving life.
Learn more: http://www.midwiferytoday.com/international/Pakistan.asp
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Inkosi Kwataine, Malawi
Chief, Community Leader
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Denis Mukwege, Democratic Republic of Congo
Founder and Director of Panzi Hospital, Bukavu
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Kakenya Ntaiya, Kenya
Founder of the Kakenya Center for Excellence
Issue: HIV/AIDS
How she delivers for women: Since learning that she is HIV-positive, Odetoyinbo has traveled a personal journey from
shameful silence to proud advocacy, and has inspired countless other women to do the same. Her devastating
diagnosis left her waiting for death. But in 2002, she attended the XIV International AIDS Conference in Barcelona,
Spain and realized she wasn’t alone. In Nigeria, over half of those with HIV are girls and women. This growing
“feminization” of AIDS drove Odetoyinbo to found Positive Action for Treatment Access to ensure equal access to
critical information on HIV prevention, and humane treatment. Odetoyinbo trains HIV-positive volunteers as health
educators, and works with doctors to reach out to those needing treatment. Today, she no longer waits for death, but
instead lives as a powerful advocate for HIV-positive women’s empowerment and survival.
Learn more: http://www.pata-nigeria.com/about.html
Issue: Philanthropy
How she delivers for women: Ramdas has been at the forefront of a new wave in
philanthropy, and she sees grant-making as more than a simple transfer of money: it’s an
opportunity for grant-makers and women-led organizations to learn from each other and
together advance women’s empowerment. Under her leadership at the Global Fund for
Women, assets rose from $6 million to $21 million, and the number of countries granted funding nearly tripled.
Ramdas’ efforts enabled the Fund to scale up their critical work, making grants to help establish, strengthen and link
women’s rights groups around the world. By sustaining women’s leadership worldwide, Ramdas has ensured that
women are recognized for the work they do and receive the resources they need to keep it up.
Learn more: http://www.globalfundforwomen.org/kavita-n-ramdas
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Casimira Rodríguez, Bolivia
Labor organizer and former Minister of Justice
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Zainab Salbi, Iraq
Founder and CEO of Women for Women International
Issue: The rights, health, and education of girls and women Afghanistan
How she delivers for women: In a country where the life expectancy for women is 44, where the rate of maternal
deaths is among the highest and the rate of female literacy among the lowest in the world, Samar has long been a
beacon of hope. Samar founded Shuhada while in exile in Pakistan in 1989, to provide health care for Afghan refugee
women and children. In the two decades since, Shuhada has expanded into a remarkable network of hospitals and
clinics focused on Afghan women, and runs scores of schools for women and children. As the first Minister of
Women’s Affairs in the new Afghan government, Samar fought to restore women’s rights and economic opportunities,
and was eventually forced out of office for her courage to do so. Now Chair of the country’s Independent Human
Rights Commission, Samar has remained a relentless voice focusing international attention on the needs of Afghan
women and girls.
Learn more: http://www.shuhada.org.af/
Mu Sochua, Cambodia
Member of Parliament and human rights advocate
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Muhammad Yunus, Bangladesh
Founder of the Grameen Bank, Recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
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IPPF’s Changemakers:
Gill Greer, New Zealand
Director-General of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF)
Carmen Barroso, Brazil
Regional Director of IPPF Western Hemisphere Region
Steven Sinding, USA
Former Director General of IPPF, Senior Fellow at the Guttmacher Institute
Scientific Visionaries:
Étienne-Émile Baulieu, France
Biochemist and Endrocrinologis at INSERM (National Institute of Health and Medical Research)
Ian Frazer, Australia
Director of the Diamantina Institute (DI), at the University of Queensland, Australia
Pak-Chung Ho, China
President of the Family Planning Association of Hong Kong, President of the Asia Oceania Federation of Obstetrics and
Gynecology
Robert G. Edwards, UK
Recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 2010
European Champions:
Tore Godal, Norway
Special Advisor to the Prime Minister of Norway
Bert Koenders, Netherlands
Former Minister for Development Cooperation, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Rutgers
WPF
Andrew Mitchell, UK
Secretary of State for International Development
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Heads of State:
Jens Stoltenberg, Norway
Prime Minister of Norway
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Spain
Prime Minister of Spain
Tarja Halonen, Finland
President of Finland
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberia
President of Liberia
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