E-mail a friendOctober 27, 2009
New York Times' columnist Nicholas D. Kristoff explains the title of his new book, Half the Sky, and shares a standout story on empowering women. Haleh Esfandiari, director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, describes the circumstances around her imprisonment in Iran.
Nicholas Kristof
Nicholas Kristof
Pulitzer-winning journalist discusses giving opportunity to women and children in the Middle East in the face of U.S. attacks. (2:00)
Full Interview (12:42)
An Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times, Nicholas Kristof's pieces have focused attention on human rights abuses in Asia and Africa. He joined the paper in '84, covering economics, and has served as bureau chief in Hong Kong, Beijing and Tokyo. Kristoff is a Harvard grad and Rhodes Scholar, has lived on four continents, traveled to more than 140 countries and written several books. He's won Pulitzers for journalism and for commentary. He's also a pioneer in multimedia and was the first blogger on the NYT Web site.
Haleh Esfandiari
Haleh Esfandiari
Dr. Esfandiari explains how the Iranian government thought she was involved with a U.S. plan to overthrow the regime. (2:15)
Full Interview (11:20)
A specialist in Middle Eastern women's issues, Iranian American scholar Haleh Esfandiari is the founding director of the Woodrow Wilson Center's Middle East Program. She's the former deputy secretary general of the Women's Organization of Iran and has taught at Princeton and worked in Iran as a journalist. Esfandiari has lived in the U.S. since '80, after leaving Iran with her family in the wake of the Iranian Revolution. In her memoir, My Prison, My Home, she recounts the ordeal of her 105-day incarceration in Tehran's Evin prison.