Noa Baum
Jerusalem & Washington, D.C.

Since 2002, Israeli-born storyteller Noa Baum has performed “A Land Twice Promised”, a one-woman show based on her dialogue with a Palestinian woman also living in the United States. The piece weaves together both the women’s and their mothers’ memories of war and occupation. Baum’s work illuminates the complex and contradictory history and emotions that surround Jerusalem for Israelis and Palestinians alike.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict seeps despair into the Western consciousness, with more than 60 years of wars and occupation, thousands dead, and no end in sight. …

Ashley Gibson interviews and writes on University of Oklahoma professor and granddaughter of a former Kashmiri prime minister Nyla Ali Khan, whose writings are making headlines in both India and Pakistan.
Khan’s extensive family history, particularly the portion pertaining to the leadership of her late grandfather Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, has been at the center of South Asia’s political debates for decades. Now, after spending years on her own academic quest to discover the truth of her grandfather’s ideals, Khan, a noted scholar and author on Kashmiri culture and politics, is addressing …

Gisela Santiago
Los Angeles, United States
“All women — regardless of immigration status or of color —  deserve equal access to reproductive care and equal treatment in all aspects of life. Immigrants’ rights are a women’s issue.”
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May 1st, known as International Workers Day, has become a day to demand full rights for immigrants and work equality here in Los Angeles and across the US. Even though the United States is known as a place of opportunity and success, the harsh reality is that while there are stories of success there are also …

Yasmine Mahmoud Fakhry
Alexandria, Egypt
“While the international community and human rights activists emphasize that human rights are universal, inalienable and imprescriptible, the truth is that human rights are inherent only in places where the culture of human rights exists.”
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Through my work as a human rights educator, I sought to bring hope to young people and motivate them to be agents of change. I lived the happiest days of my life teaching, especially because I maintained a good rapport and a positive relationship with my students. I have been blessed by the …