Advisory Council

WLP works in collaboration with an international network of experts that includes heads of U.N. agencies, leaders of international NGOs, and scholars and activists representing diverse professional, cultural, and religious perspectives. They help us analyze the social, cultural, political, and gender implications of our programs and fine-tune them accordingly.

Members of WLP's International Advisory Council (IAC) are:

Hafsat Abiola
President, Women in Africa Initiative (WAI)

Leila Ahmed
Professor of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School 

Zainah Anwar
Founder of Sisters in Islam (SIS)

Afifa Dirani Arsanios
President, Association Libanaise Des villages d'enfants SOS

Abena Busia
Ghana's Ambassador to Brazil, and Professor of English at Rutgers University

Krishanti Dharmaraj
Executive Director, Center for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL)
Founder of Dignity Index

Yakin Ertürk
Former UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women

Suheir Azzouni-Mahshi
Former Chief, Centre for Women, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)
Former Director at WATC (Women's Affair Technical Committee)

Charlotte Bunch
Founding Director, Center for Women's Global Leadership (CWGL)

Noeleen Heyzer
Distinguished Fellow, School of Social Science as Singapore Management University

Ann Elizabeth Mayer
Associate Professor Emeritus of Legal Studies and Business Ethics

Malena de Montis
Founder, Latin America Network for Economic Justice and Gender (REDLADER), Center for Democratic Participation and Development (CENZONTLE), and the Women's Development Fund (FODEM)/CENZONTLE

Nancy Flowers
Human Rights Education Consultant, Co-Founder of Human Rights USA

Anne Gahongayire
Former Secretary General, Supreme Court of Rwanda 

Khadija Haq
President, Mahbub ul Haq Human Development Centre

Masuma Hasan
President of Aurat Foundation
Chairperson of The Pakistan Institute of International Affairs

Azza Karam
Founding President and CEO, Lead Integrity

Joanna Kerr
President and CEO, Tides Canada

Amina Lemrini
Co-Founder and former President, Association Démocratique des Femmes du Maroc (ADFM)
President, High Council for Audio Visual Communication

Afaf Mahfouz
Psychologist, Lawyer, and former President, Conference of Non-governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CONGO)

Rabéa Naciri
Committee Member, Association Démocratique des Femmes du Maroc (ADFM)
Member of Human Rights Council

Kumi Naidoo
Former Executive Director, Amnesty International

Thoraya Obaid
Former Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund
Former United Nations Under-Secretary General
Member Emeritus, WLP Board of Directors

Kavita Ramdas
Director of the Women’s Rights Program, Open Society Foundation 

Aruna Rao
Co-Founder and Executive Director, Gender at Work

Rose Shomali
Former Director General of Women's Affairs Technical Committee (WATC)

Zenebewerke Tadesse
Founding Member and First Executive Secretary, Association of African Women for Research and Development

Marfua Tokhtakhodjaeva 
Founder and Co-Director of the Women's Resource Center