NEWS RELEASE/ADVISORY
October 7, 2008
Two participants in international speaker programs at Westfield State College, Yanar Mohammed of Iraq and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian of Israel, have been awarded the prestigious 2008 Gruber Women's Rights Prize.
Mohammed was keynote speaker at the 2005 Global Women's History Conference, “Women of Iraq and Iran: Visionaries for Peace in the 21st Century.” Shalhoub-Kevorkian visited the college in April 2008, speaking on “Palestine and Rwanda: A Feminist Critique of Legal Systems in War Zones.”
Elise G. Young, professor of history and founder and director of The Global Women's History Project (GWHP), brought both women to campus with the support of the Guest Lecture Series. “Both women were impressed with our students and college community, and have an on-going relationship with Westfield as Board members of GWHP,” she said.
“Yanar and Nadera are brilliant thinkers, activists, and organizers. They both brought passion and knowledge and love to their work with us. I look forward to bringing them both back to campus,” Young said.
The Women's Rights Prize of the Peter and Patricia Gruber: Foundation is presented to an individual or group that has made significant contributions, often at great personal or professional risk, to furthering the rights of women and girls in any area and to advancing public awareness of the need for gender equality to achieve a just award. The Award carries a stipend of $500,000.
The Gruber Foundation is a philanthropic organization based in St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands that offers international prizes for excellence in science and the humanities.
Mohammed, as co-founder of the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq, and founder of Defense of Iraqi’s Women’s Rights, has become the focal point for women’s rights activism in Iraq. She is publisher of Al Mousawat, a newspaper calling for full equality for women. She has opened women’s shelters and safe houses to protect women threatened by honor killing and domestic abuse.
Shalhoub-Kevorkian, a Palestinian on the faculty of The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, is a leading feminist scholar. A criminologist and specialist in women’s rights, she has lectured around the world on issues of violence against women in the Arab world and elsewhere. She has written extensively and authored two books on domestic violence and the criminal justice response to violence against women.
The presentations by both women enlightened and inspired many Westfield State students and faculty, Young said. They appreciated hearing firsthand the experiences they faced and were impressed by their courage.
Young said reports from students included such comments as the following:
“Nothing could have prepared me for how connected I, too, felt to Yanar (Mohammed), and how her speech profoundly moved me. Honestly, I’m not sure that I have ever paid closer attention to a speaker in my life.”
“It was not just her (Shalhoub-Kevorkian’s) knowledge, but her passion that truly made what she said powerful.”
“I think Yanar Mohammed is extremely brave to come to America and share her knowledge about women (in Iraq).”
“The presentation (by Shalhoub-Kevorkian) was extremely insightful and it was also very touching to hear of her own experience … we weren’t just reading about these situations, but actually hearing firsthand experience.”
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