Dr. Anissa Helie is a historian by training and a feminist activist by choice - she is currently Assistant Professor in the Department of History at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York. Raised in Algiers, she has advanced degrees from France and the Netherlands. Her doctoral research focused on European women and gender politics in Algeria during French colonization. She has been involved with various women's organizations and transnational networks - serving as Director of the Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) International Coordination Office from 2000-2005. She has held research and teaching positions at the Five College Women's Studies Research Center, MA, at Amherst College and surrounding colleges (2005-2008). Helie speaks internationally on issues of wars and conflicts, religious fundamentalisms and the politics of gender and sexuality. Her publications include: 'Holy Hatred - Penalties for Homosexuality in Muslim Countries and Communities' (2000), and 'Documenting Women's Rights Violations by Non-State Actors: Experiences of Activists from Muslim Communities' (2006). Board memberships include: the Urgent Action Fund for Women's Human Rights, the Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights, and Reproductive Health Matters Journal. Dr. Homa Hoodfar is a Professor of Anthropology at Concordia University, Montreal. She has extensively studied survival and empowerment strategies amongst those marginalized by legal constraints particular in the area of family law and citizenship, economic penury, and women's movements. She has also researched women in local and national politics, with a particular focus on women and younger people in Egypt, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and amongst Canada's Muslim communities. She has published extensively on these topics. Her publications include: 'Between Marriage and the Market: Intimate Politics and Survival in Cairo' (2005), 'Development, Change, and Gender in Cairo: A View from the Household' (1996), 'The Muslim Veil in North America: Issues and Debates' (2003), WLUML Special Dossier: 'Shifting Boundaries in Marriage and Divorce in Muslim Communities' (1996); 'Building Civil Societies: A Guide for Social and Political Participation', with Nelofer Pazira (1999); 'Women, Religion and the 'Afghan Education Movement' in Iran', (2008), 'Health as a Context for Social and Gender Activism: Female Volunteer Health Workers in Iran' (2010).