The Haleh Esfandiari Forum 2025: Hela Cheikhrouhou

The Middle East Program (MEP) is pleased to host Hela Cheikhrouhou, the Regional Vice President for Middle East, Central Asia, Türkiye, Afghanistan, and Pakistan at the International Finance Corporation, for the 2025 Annual Haleh Esfandiari Forum. Moderated by MEP Director Merissa Khurma, this conversation will center on Ms. Cheikhouhou’s experience in fragile state settings and her commitment to gender equality. As the Middle East & North Africa is experiencing a moment of profound change, Ms. Cheikhrouhou will reflect on the conditions on the ground in the region, what resilient societies with women at their centers look like, and the role of the private sector in rebuilding.   

About the Forum   

The Haleh Esfandiari Forum at the Wilson Center is a series of public events focused on women's empowerment in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. This initiative by the Middle East Women's Initiative (MEWI) honors Haleh Esfandiari's commitment to promoting women's empowerment and her leadership of MEP from its inception in 1998 through 2015.  

The Haleh Esfandiari Forum is the flagship event of the Middle East Women’s Initiative, one of the key pillars of the Wilson Center’s Middle East Program. Through an open and inclusive dialogue with women leaders from the Middle East and continuous research, MEWI aims to deepen understanding of both the challenges, opportunities and progress in gender development and prescribe policy recommendations for governments and civil society to achieve gender parity across the region. 

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