Zainah Anwar is the recently retired Executive Director of Sisters in Islam. It is widely regarded as one of the most successful women’s advocacy groups in the Islamic world. A grassroots Malaysian organization formed in 1988, it promotes women’s rights and challenges discrimination against women. They run a legal clinic, legal literary programs, public awareness programs, and perform research in law reform. She is currently Board Member and Project Director for the Global Movement for Equality and Justice in the Muslim Family.

Akbar Ganji is an Iranian human rights dissident and writer. He has won the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders and the John Humphreys Freedom Award. He won the Middle East Studies Association of North America, Academic Freedom Prize (2006). 

Moderator: Professor Nur Yalman

Discussant: Andrew Woods, HLS