Women’s Rights Group Wins $1.5-Million Prize

Women for Women International, a nonprofit group that aids women in war-torn countries, received the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize, which awards $1.5-million annually to an organization that has alleviated human suffering, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Zainab Salbi, an Iraqi woman who left her country while Saddam Hussein was in power, founded the group 14 years ago. To date, Women for Women has helped 70,000 women and given $28-million to support women’s rights in war-torn countries.

The prize will go toward a $6-million campaign, which is raising money to build 40 havens for women in nine countries.

“When we speak of war, often war means heroism for our soldiers and cowardice for the other side,” Ms. Salbi says. “But what does it mean for women? It means to keep life going, food on the table, the kids in school.”

Read The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s article about the charity.